Complications
by Valkyrie85
Summary: Love to him is nothing but a game. When he plays with her and dumps her, will this game end as smoothly as the other ones, or will it change him in a way that will make him think twice about his attitude towards love? SxS
1. Chapter 1

**Valkyrie85:** Hey guys! Long time no see. I'm sorry that I deleted all of the other stories. But, I will make up by finishing this awesome new story that has been on my mind for so many months. I promise you guys that I'll finish this one for sure. SO... PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!

The first chapter is kind of corny because it's basically an introduction of the story and the characters, so please forgive the corniness. Thank you for giving this story a chance!

**Character Info:**

Sakura Kinomoto-Grade 11 student at Tomoeda High

Syaoran Li-Grade 11 student at Tomoeda High, Playboy

**Complications-Chapter 1**

* * *

**1 Year Ago, Grade 10**

"Ugh," groaned a low seducing voice. "She was the most boring girl I'd ever met."

For a minute there, the room returned to the awkward quietness, although this time it included breathless breathing that got harder and heavier every 10 seconds.

"All she does is study, or else, practicing that piano with all those classical crap. Man, she had no life!" the first voice continued.

"I d-don't--" a second female voice sounded. She was as breathless as one can get when making out, "even know why you asked her out, Syaoran."

"I regret it, can't you see?" the first sexy voice returned. "Only you are the right person for me, Lydia." The hard breathing stopped gradually, perhaps a result from the end of their busy ministrations.

"I really don't get you, now. If you don't like Kinomoto, why did you go out with her in the first place?" asked the second person, named Lydia, confusedly."That bitch's not your type, but you looked overly protective around her like you actually cared about the relationship."

Syaoran, a handsome guy with messy chestnut hair and amber orbs, quickly recovered from a moment of quiet thoughts.

"Oh please. Never be jealous of her. She was only a useful tool to upgrade my marks," Syaoran confronted. "And she looked very innocent so I wanted to see if she really was that innocent, you know?"

"Ha!" Lydia screeched humorously. "You're a bad, bad boy, Syaoran. Look what you've done to the poor, innocent Kinomoto! Her heart will be broken by your words!"

Syaoran's manly voice echoed her hysterical laughter. "I think our bad boy deserves some reward, don't you think?" Lydia suggested after her round of devious giggles.

With that, the room became silent, once again, as the lock on the main washroom door got unlocked.

Syaoran and Lydia had already left the washroom before the farthest stall to the left opened up. Out walked a stunning, beautiful girl with mid-back auburn hair and big emerald eyes. The bottom of her swollen eyes finally let out the betraying tears she had tried so hard to stop from rolling down her face.

She began to sob uncontrollably.

Her mind currently contained nothing but emptiness, for she was too shocked to break down the words spoken by Syaoran and Lydia minutes ago.

Did she hear correctly?

Her mind was beginning to make up all kinds of excuses to pursuade herself that the man who had just talked shit behind her back was not Syaoran Li, her 3-month-old boyfriend.

"That was somebody else," she thought hopefully.

"Yeah, that must be it. Why would Syaoran be in the... girls' washroom when classes are still happening? And the girl they were talking about, it was just someone whose name shared a similar pronunciation as her name. There are lots of people out there whose names have close pronunciation as hers..."

"And Lydia was not the Lydia she saw hugging Syaoran the other day outside, on the field. It was another Lydia of a different last name!"

"EVERYTHING WAS JUST A COINCIDENCE! EVERYTHING WAS..." Sakura couldn't continue her lame excuses anymore.

Her weak legs carried her no farther than the floor right before her eyes and they commenced to tremble furiously.

Seated restlessly on the tiled floor, she wrapped her arms around her knees while her head buried in her arms. What was she to do, now?

Her body felt like it was delicate enough to shatter even within the tiniest movements.

As minutes ticked by, the truth fixated into her head. From the very beginning, there was no reason, whatsoever, why she had caught the interest of the famous playboy, Syaoran Li, other than the fact that she was used as a advantageous tool to upgrade his marks.

As much as she hated to admit this excruciating truth, she was used all along by this revolting, cold-hearted beast.

* * *

**Present (Grade 11**)

"Now, I am going to hand back your history tests from last week," said Sakito Sensei to her class.

"I appreciate all of your hard effort that you have put into this exam. Let's congratulate our highest scorer of the semester. Miss Kinomoto!" The class erupted into a loud round of applause.

"Congratz Sakura!" The mob of dark brown hair turned swiftly in front of Sakura as Mike showed his childish grin.

"Thanks Mike." Sakura smiled back. It was just hard to ignore his natural excitement over everything.

"And Michael Tai came in 2nd, congratulations!" Saikito Sensei continued in her powerful, yet soft, voice, followed by another round of applause.

"Wow, I got second. That's quite impressive," Mike pouted.

"Don't be silly. You're a smart kid," Sakura said as she slapped his back lightly.

"Sometimes, just a bit of a nuissance," Sakura added, jokingly.

Mike rolled his eyes.

"And third place was claimed by Jun Akatsu!" Saikito Sensei clapped her plumpy hands together, loudly, indicating the end of her announcements.

"Everyone, be sure to learn from these three students. If you try even harder, you'll reach just as far as them."

Sakura spotted Jun, sitting a few seats behind her, with his hair gelled up--as usual--as she sticked her two thumbs up.

"Thanks," mouthed Jun, giving a half-crooked smile. To the other classmates, that expression might have denoted pride, but to Sakura and Jun's other close friends, it meant his sincere appreciation. Jun was a man of little words, yet he could be the most charming person one could ever meet, if he was given the chance to show it.

* * *

"Let's see what you have for lunch." Mike grabbed the brown paper bag from Sakura's hands as he, Jun, Chichiru and Sakura made their turn down the corridor towards their school cafeteria.

"Gee, where's the REAL food, Sakura?" his eyebrows pulled together into a frown. There was nothing he'd recognized as real lunch other than an apple and some carrots that could hardly replenish someone's stomach.

"Um...I'm buying it," Sakura said as she snatched the bag away from Mike.

"Good for you, missy," Mike continued. "Just imagine how embarrassing you will become if--" Jun suddenly hit the back of Mike's head with his hand.

"Shut up, Mike. She knows what she's doing."

Mike hissed lowly, ready to counter-attack however was stopped short when a girl greeted him as she walked past the four of them. His mood quickly shifted.

Even without the extra information, Sakura was already dead silent due to her embarrassment. Her rebellious stomach had decided to growl in the wrong place and at the wrong time when she was doing a presentation in front of her classmates, last week. That piece of disconcerting memory was better left unspoken than be reminded, again. The Tomoeda High Cafeteria was huge, partially because of the school's population at approximately 4000 people. There were different fast food restaurants in an area of the cafeteria, while another area was set up with tables for the students.

It was like an ordinary food court in a mall, except it wasn't as crowded or dirty.

"We'll go find Tomoyo and the others. You guys go buy your lunch," Chichiru said as she walked off with Jun towards the half-full table area.

"What do you want to have today?" asked Mike, looking around at the food stands.

"Hm... I want something warm. It's rather cold today."

"Alright, will ramen do?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Two beef ramen, please," Mike ordered and handed a bill to the lady at the cash register.

"Hey! Let me pay!" Sakura's attempt to take back his money failed when Mike restrained her hand in one of his and hastily shoved the money into the lady's hand.

"Next time." He grinned.

Sakura sighed, loudly.

The middle-aged woman giggled at their sweet, little revelation as she murmured inwardly, "Kids these days are so sweet!"

* * *

"Mike, Sakura!" Rika, one of Sakura's best girfriends, waved her hand at them once she took sight of them carrying their trays of ramen towards her table. There, their good friends were seated side by side around the round table, as always.

There was Hikaru, Jun, Chichiru, Tadeshi, Rika, Rei, Naoko, and Tomoyo, Sakura's most beloved friend and cousin. Tomoyo Daidouji was the daughter of Daidouji Corporation's President, Sonomi Daidouji, who was non-blood related to Sakura's deceased mother. Because they were as close as sisters, therefore, Tomoyo and Sakura were very close.

Unlike what a normal heiress, who would willingly take over her parents' toy company, Tomoyo was heading towards a totally different field. Her exceedingly talented taste in fashion aroused her long-time interest, of making clothes for Sakura, into creating her own high-end fashion, yet affordable, clothing line in the future.

Who wouldn't like to wear unique clothes everyday, ones that weren't even stocked up for the markets? If one had the opportunity to have that wish granted, Sakura would definitely be one of the people on that list. But because Tomoeda High students were required to wear uniforms everyday, she was only able to wear the clothes designed and made by Tomoyo on days with no school.

"Hey," Sakura greeted her friends, who returned her greeting with the equal level of enthusiasm.

Their lunch everyday consisted of a large table filled with close friends and exchanging of lunch meals. It was a normal routine they practiced, naturally.

"How's it going, Sakura?" Hikaru asked, then added, "Dumb Mike, eating ramen again?" He constantly liked to tease Mike while Mike enjoyed doing the very same thing back to him.

"Asshole," Mike muttered under his breath.

As they ate and talked amongst themselves, Rei suddenly froze and glared at the entrance of the cafeteria.

"Sheesh, can't they just calm down?"

Almost every girl in the cafeteria, except the ones at Sakura's table, gawked and gasped at the five figures entering their cafeteria doors. The very centre of them all was Syaoran, whose arm was clung closely by his new girlfriend, Nuri, of three days.

He was the ladies killer at Tomoeda High, the playboy hottie who was cherished by every single female teacher, the heir of Asia's largest Corporation, and the ultimate traitor who broke Sakura's heart, almost one year ago. He was the most-wanted man and could have any woman he wanted because of his family name and large fortune.

Everyone simply died for a chance to be his next girlfriend. Even if it was just for one day, they wished to stand next to him as his new girl. Once he got tired of them, Syaoran rewarded them with a cheque that contained more than enough money which a normal high school student could earn in the shortest period of time.

Because of this factor, nobody ever got "heart-broken" after Syaoran broke up with her. Every girl to him was the same, labeled with expired dates indicating the relationship's longevity.

Everyone, except for Sakura.

She was the rare one who got dumped after MONTHS of dating, instead of days.

Followed closely behind Syaoran and Nuri were his three best friends, Takumi, Ryu and Eriol, Tomoyo's long-time boyfriend.

_"OH MY GOSH! SYAORAN!"_

_"WILL YOU MARRY ME, SYAORAN-SAMA?!"_

_"I LOVE YOU! MY NAME IS--"_

_"YOU--"_

When Syaoran smiled back gorgeously, the screams got even louder. Something as surreal as this may only happen in movies and in the media, but at Tomoeda High, everyone lived within their own little world of Hollywood.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Tomoyo whispered to Sakura after realizing that her body had turned as rigid as stone.

"Yeah, why?" Sakura asked, mystified. She might have been able to fool other people, but this was Tomoyo Daidouji. She knew every little thing about Sakura.

"OOPH--" Sakura was immediately pulled into a tight hug by Tomoyo.

"Sakura...?" Rei, always the sensitive one, asked uncertainly.

"I'm really fine, guys. No biggie," Sakura smiled encouragingly, only to be responded back with worried glances from her friends.

Every one of them knew about her past with Syaoran. In fact, she was under the spotlight for quite some time when her relationship with him lasted, for awhile, before their break-up. After that, she was quickly forgotten like the other ex-girlfriends. Similar to the entertainment industry, people were very shallow.

She had to remind her friends numerous times that it was no big deal to her, and her feelings for Syaoran were barely there. The real reason behind her anger was because of Syaoran's unfaithful betrayal.

As the commotion gradually calmed, Sakura ignored her friends' wary expressions and stood up from her chair.

"Eriol!" She waved her hand at the table three tables away from hers, as she shifted closer to Mike to make room for him. This was another lunch routine. When the chance was available, Sakura's group would warmly welcome Eriol, and Eriol only, to join them at their table because of his close relationship with Tomoyo. Other than him, no one else from Eriol's group, Syaoran in particular, was allowed to trespass.

The corners of Eriol's mouth lifted up into a kind smile. He told his friends something quickly as he got up and approached Sakura's table.

Accidentally meeting those fascinated amber eyes with her warm-turned-cold ones, Sakura stared at Syaoran for a quick moment and then smiled the slightest bit before hurriedly sitting back down.

Out of all people, Syaoran was the last person who should deserve Sakura's polite gestures. Out of all people, Syaoran should be the last person she should ever smile at. Out of all people, Syaoran should be the last person to casually return one of his dazzling, yet pretentious, smile at her.

Yet, everything failed to progress in the rightful way.

Yet, Sakura was just too kind to ever treat a human being in such a way.

Yet, Syaoran was too oblivious to what he had done to Sakura.

Syaoran's attention hesitantly shifted to his whiny girlfriend, who was trying to claim his attention. Without much intention to learn what he'd missed during his short absence, he said, "Meet me in the parking lot today, okay, babe?"

Nuri gladly nodded at this offer, dismissing any previous dissatisfaction.

* * *

As Syaoran's group got up to exit the almost-empty cafeteria, his attention was once again inwardly divided upon the table they were passing by: Sakura's table.

"The ramen was good, wasn't it?" Mike patted his stomach after drinking the rest of his soup.

"Yeah, thanks Mike," Sakura said, grabbing the napkin placed on the table.

"You eat like a little kid, Mikey." Sakura dabbed it around his mouth as Mike turned his head away like a little kid.

Syaoran shook his head as if in disappointment while Nuri spat out her poisoness words in disgust, something she would always do if a particular thing had irritated her. "How gross. Look at the number of guys she's manipulating."

* * *

Sakura had just said goodbye to her friends in the cafeteria as she walked down the hall towards her next classroom. Rika and Tomoyo would have been there with her, however, they left earlier to their lockers to get their Math presentation project that was due today.

She made a turn in the almost-empty hallway and spotted Syaoran and Nuri kissing feverishly. Yes, Syaoran was in her class too, unfortunately.

Before she could reach her classroom, she saw Sarah Kwon, a 10th grader walking in her direction.

"Sakura-Senpai!"she chirped. She had a cute pixie face and big brown eyes.

"Sarah! It feels like we haven't seen each other in ages! Where are you heading to?" Sakura's gentle voice made Sarah blush.

"I have Math, right now."

"Oh wow, me too." Sakura and Sarah shared some giggles as they realized the coincidence.

"Well, let's go to class before we are late."

"Yup. Bye Sakura-Senpai!" Sarah waved as she ran backwards front down the hall.

"Oh yeah," she added, excitedly, "Ken told me to say hi to you!" At the words, Sakura froze on the spot.

"He said he'll see you soon!" In little time, she disappeared. Recovering from her daze, Sakura half-ran to her classroom before she became later than she already was. "Your popularity is impressive, Sakura." She turned around as she heard a low voice spoke from behind.

"Not as popular as you are, I must say," Sakura replied politely at Syaoran and hurried off to the seat beside Tomoyo's.

"Sakura!" Tomoyo murmured anxiously. She eyed Syaoran while he grabbed his seat, two rows up front. "What did he say to you?" she continued accusingly.

"Oh, nothing," Sakura said plainly, plain enough that Tomoyo didn't have to question any further. "But I met Sarah Kwon. She said Ken said hi and he will be seeing me soon," Sakura added with more emotion.

Ken Kwon was Sakura's first boyfriend. He was currently studying at the University of Tokyo. Because it would be a long distance relationship, they decided to remain as close friends, instead, before he left for Tokyo.

Tomoyo stared at Syaoran's direction thoughtfully.

"Hm..."

"What?"

"If he asks you out again, will you take him in?" Tomoyo asked curiously, almost like talking to herself.

"Tomoyo, you should know this better than anyone else. There will be no future for us. I am just one boring girl who may already be an obstacle to his future."

"So...that's a no, again?" Tomoyo comfirmed.

"Of course. There's no way I will ever date him even if there will be a second chance," Sakura replied in a determined tone.

Throughout the longer-than-normal Math lesson, Sakura was bothered by the smirk that continuously played on Tomoyo's face.

"What's with your smirks?" Sakura finally let out her frustration.

"Nothing. It's just interesting to watch someone being so restless, today," Tomoyo whispered back, shooting a secret glance at Syaoran's direction.

_'I am just one boring girl...There's no way I will ever date him even if there will be a second chance,'_ was the sentence that kept on repeating itself in Syaoran's head, the only sentence he had unintentionally overheard from the conversation that Sakura and Tomoyo shared.

* * *

**Valkyrie85: And that is the end of this first corny chapter. Please tell me how you felt about it, okay? THANK YOU FOR READING**!


	2. Chapter 2

**Valkyrie85:** Thank you everyone for your support! I wasn't expecting so many reviews!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CCS.

**Complications-Chapter 2**

* * *

**Syaoran's Dream- Grade 10 Flashback**

_Syaoran ordered a cup of ice coffee and a slice of Black Forest as he sat in the cafeteria's V.I.P. room all by himself. He took a sip of the coffee without paying it much attention and repositioned it back onto the coffee table beside his untouched cake, while thinking deeply about something._

_After confessing to Lydia, he felt guilty. It wasn't because he had lied to Lydia about Sakura being a boring girl so that he could claim her sympathy, nor was it because he'd lied to her that he'd dated Sakura so she could tutor him. No, lying to those girls was his talent. He always lied on many accounts._

_He felt this atypical remorse because he had cheated and used Sakura for the past few months_.

_'Just give her a cheque and you're done with her,' Syaoran thought to himself_.

_As if on cue, Sakura suddenly entered the room in outrage. He shot up, astonishment filled his entire feature._

_Her eyes were red and swollen, a result from crying. Her long hair was pulled back into a messy bun...It was quite obvious that she had been running hard to find him_.

_She panted and walked slowly towards Syaoran while he stood up, completely mystified by her sudden appearance._

_Without much warning beforehand, however, a quick slap was performed across his more-than-perfect face, leaving a visibly faint red bruise. She retreated her hand immediately from Syaoran after the contact._

_This was something new, no doubt. Syaoran had never imagined an anger-filled Sakura standing before him, performing what she had done just now...to HIM. His mouth imprudently dropped. "Are you alright?" he asked, unsure but still startled._

_"Don't act like you don't know anything bastard!" Sakura's anger rose due to his pretentious effort. "How can you do this to me? Why do you have to be so cruel to the point that you had lied to me this whole time?" Tears started to form beneath her eyes once again._

_"How do you know?" There was no need for further explanation. Just by her tears and the expression on her face, it was enough to explain what her words meant._

_Seeing no reply from Sakura, who was biting her bottom lip trying her best not to shed anymore tears in front of Syaoran, he pulled out a small, white rectangle piece of paper from his pocket._

_"W-What is this?" she pushed._

_"Money. Isn't this what you've wanted from the beginning? Here."_

_Handing the check over to her hands, he added, "You don't have to go all tearful to get this. I will gift you this cheque no matter what happened during the relationship."_

_"Money," Sakura started, taking a quick look at the cheque before beginning to tear it into small pieces. "Is that all you can give Syaoran Li? Worthless money that doesn't mean anything? You are the nastiest person I've ever met!" She threw the tiny pieces at his face._

_"Let me tell you something, you will never have a person who will truly love you even if you paid her one million dollars to do it!" she yelled as one of her hands struggled to rip a ring off of her finger._

_"A plain girl like me," she held the ring in front of his face after finally pulling it off, "doesn't wear rings like this." She banged the ring down onto the round table and stormed out of the door._

_"Syaoran Li I hate you," were the last words Sakura spoke to him as his "girlfriend." He watched her retreating back as he became choked up inside_.

_The harsh words he'd said to Sakura a few minutes back were enough to make his whole frame collapse, yet he just had to keep his cool facade in place before more unwanted things unwind themselves into life..._

* * *

**Present (Grade 11)**

_Syaoran Li I hate you._

Syaoran recalled this sentence over and over again. It was the statement that made him hesitant to move because for all he knew, this was the sentence that broke his heart in the most unbearable way. It was like...it felt like somebody had stabbed him with a knife right through his heart. No, it was more than that, but he just didn't know what.

His body was covered in sweat, his breath uneven. He pushed Nuri's bare arm off of his chest as he sat up. Under the moonlight, he read his alarm which showed 5:15 a.m. Though it was 4 hours before school started, he decided to take a cold shower to cool his brain. "A shower will do," he whispered to himself and slid out of his king-size bed quietly.

_Syaoran Li I hate you._

* * *

**Bee bee bee! Bee bee bee...**

"Syaoran!" a tired voice called out into the completely silent master bedroom. There was no answer. "Syaoran!" the voice yelled again in irritation as the alarm clock above her bed stand continued to ring innocently, doing its rightful job. Again, no reply. She swiftly rose from the bed and hit the annoying alarm clock for it to stop while she noticed a small piece of papaer drifting to the floor.

_Thank you for your company these few days, Nuri. Here's a cheque for you. Please use it all you want. I have called a driver to pick you up downstairs at 8:45 to escort you to your house_ _and then_ _to school._

It was a break-up note from Syaoran Li, the famous note that everyone had knowledge of, with an attachment of a cheque. "Aww, I really liked him," Nuri said to herself. "Oh well, I'll just hang out with some friends tonight."

Money was the key to Syaoran's numerous short-lived relationships. The negative emotions within the girls were simply erased once they received the cheque. Everyone but Sakura.

Nuri got off of the bed and started to dress up. It was going to be an exciting day with so much money to spend.

* * *

"Thank you very much for escorting Nuri, Tai," Syaoran thanked the other line as he made a turn in his yellow metalic porsche onto the premise of Tomoeda High. He parked his car in the normal spot where he always had for the past few months. Tai, his family-hired chauffeur had just reported to Syaoran that Nuri was safely brought back to school from her home. See, maybe Syaoran wasn't so bad, after all. At least he had a heart and felt responsible for his ex-girlfriend's safety.

"Morning man," Syaoran propped Ryu then Takumi, his two best buds since they were little kids.

"Hoho! You owe me ten, dude!" Ryu exclaimed with apparent joy. Takumi returned Ryu's smug smile with a frown.

"Ugh," Takumi grimaced, "Syaoran, why the hell did you break up with Nuri so fast?"

Syaoran ignored the question and asked casually, "You guys were betting on me again?"

"Yeah. It's the best opportunity to get money. With you so predictable, I can't imagine why Takumi always bet on you not breaking up with a girl," Ryu smirked while Takumi hissed lowly.

"Syaoran, this is for your own sake. Treat the girls with more love, you know!" Takumi threw his hands up in exasperation. "You can't bluntly ask them out for fun and then break their hearts later like they have no human emotions! That's not right. Don't you think it's time you should settle down?" Takumi made his usual speech whenever something like today happened.

As he spoke, he shook Ryu's hand that was poking him for the money, and took out a bill from his wallet. Shooting Ryu a final look, he forcefully shoved it into his hand.

Ryu grinned childishly.

"What happened to you and Nuri?" Ryu questioned.

"I lost interest," Syaoran responded matter-of-factly, before continuing again when he saw Takumi about to comment back. "Are we still going skating tomorrow, or what?"

"The plan hasn't changed, from what I know. Do you have other plans?" Ryu suggested.

"Count me in if there will be hot girls," Syaoran grinned.

Takumi sighed, "Syaoran, when will you ever grow up." He shook his head in disappointment.

Syaoran Li lived by himself in an up-scale apartment. His mother, father and 4 sisters lived in Hong Kong, where his family company's Head Quarter was located. They frequently visited him, but most of the time, he was alone in Japan, under the supervision of an appointed guardian, the temporary CEO of Li Corporation in Japan.

Just like any other heir, he was going to inherit the company whenever his family thought he would be responsible enough. That time won't come any sooner for his still-immature and irresponsible behaviour had put his inheirtance in jeopardy.

No matter how much time Syaoran still had left, before taking over the company that was the largest in Asia, he will not regain his youth once he became the president. Knowing that, Syaoran may as well be trying to experience his teenage life to its fullest.

"Wow, I still can't believe how fast you dumped her this time. That's a record-breaking moment," Ryu said in awe as he thought over the idea.

"I-I had the dream again," Syaoran replied in an almost-embarrassed tone.

"What, the one which Sakura says 'I hate you Syaoran Li'?" Ryu's imitation of Sakura's voice was horrible.

Syaoran nodded slowly.

"Dude, just admit that you still like her, won't you. We can all tell that you do," Takumi encouraged.

"Takumi's right," Ryu placed his hand on Syaoran's shoulder, "you can't lie to yourself. If you do like her, then just go for it. I can't imagine anyone actually rejecting you."

Syaoran shook his hand off.

"I don't like her. She's not my type. How many times do I have to tell you guys? I only went out with her for her help in my studies," Syaoran defended.

"But Syaoran, we all know you don't get bad grades. The heir of the Li Corporation gets high grades."

"Who are you trying to lie to?" Takumi pushed. "Us? We've known you for too long, man--"

"Oh... speak of the devil." Takumi's words were cut short when his gaze focused on something behind Syaoran. Syaoran followed his gaze while he turned. They saw Sakura walking towards the entrance gate with one of her friends.

Unwantedly, Syaoran flinched and quickly started walking towards the school building entrance. "Let's get to class. I don't want to be late." Takumi and Ryu stared after his back and sighed simultaneously.

* * *

"So class. As usual, every January 23rd is our school's traditional electives day. This year, many of you have chosen to go skating so it will be fairly crowded. Remember to bring a lunch and money. Also, PLEASE dress appropriately for the weather," Misuki Sensei explained to her students. Sakura, who sat at the front, listened patiently while the teacher continued to explain the schedule for tomorrow, for she will be one of those going to the skating rink. Tomoyo, Mike, Rika, along with her other friends were attending as well. Therefore, it will be a fun day.

"Syaoran Li will be the bus captain for our bus, who will be in charge of student attendance. Please report to him immediately after you arrive at school so that we could depart as early as possible. This year we've booked a different skating rink that's bigger due to the increasing number of attenders..." continued the instructions, but Sakura's mind had already drowned out everything that was happening around her.

_'Oh god! Syaoran's coming!?'_ Sakura froze at the name. What a great way to start her fun tomorrow.

* * *

**Valkyrie85: Thank you all for reading! I really hope you liked this chapter just as much as the first one. Please review! It will be a great way for me to continue! THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN**!


	3. Chapter 3

**Valkyrie85**: Thank you ALL of you for your awesome reviews!! Once again, they had brightened my day! I'm sorry that I can't reply to your reviews all at once, but do understand HOW much I appreciate your support. Without you, I wouldn't be continuing the story. Also, thank you very much to those who read my story but didn't review. I'm glad that you returned to read this story, although it would be nice of you to do me a favour and tell me how you like it :) Please read and review! Let's try to aim to 35 reviews this time, shall we?

**Complications Chapter 3**

* * *

The annual Electives Day was an event that every student looked forward to, all of those excluding Sakura Kinomoto. Her original unperturbed plan for the trip was wrecked entirely because the infamous Syaoran Li had a change of heart to go skating at the very end, which caused the whole school to make-shift overnight.

A school day with his existence was already like a restless wind tunnel. With him at the skating rink, the whole school would go wild and uncontrollable. Whatever made him change his decision has brought Syaoran into her "Hate" Zone once again.

"Why can't he just stay out of this event like the 2 years before, Tomoyo, why?" Sakura asked cluelessly in outrage into her cellphone.

"I don't know Sakura," Tomoyo's voice, as usual, was unbothered by anything. "Whatever his reason, we shouldn't let that bother us." Her attempt to calm Sakura down failed when Sakura groaned loudly. She heard ruffles of Sakura sitting up on her bed, now.

"Ugh, I guess," Sakura gave up in defeat.

"That's the spirit. Get enough sleep, you've got a whole lot to learn tomorrow!"

"Oh great!!" Sakura slapped her forehead.

"Remember to smile at the camera. Sakura-chan's first skating experience has to be video-taped," Tomoyo chirpped animatedly, knowing Sakura would very well blush at the thought.

"No, I'll break your camera if you do."

"We'll see about that, Sakura. See you," Tomoyo replied dismissively, stating the end of their phone call.

"Bye," Sakura pressed the red "end" button on her phone, having heard her friend's significant evilness, the 'hohohohohos.'

* * *

"No doubt, that's our bus," Mike lifted up his right hand and pointed at one of the 25 black-and-yellow school bus that was parked in the school parking lot.

The area where the bus was located was especially crowded, to the point that people, mainly girls, spread out all the way to the next 5 buses. They shoved, squeezed, and pushed their way into the one bus where, for sure, Syaoran Li was going to ride in.

This bus was also the bus, for sure, that Rika, Mike, Tomoyo and Sakura would have to ride in because Syaoran was their bus captain. There were two teachers who tried their best to keep the mad girls from blocking the bus entrance.

Without realizing it, Sakura's jaws dropped so low and eyes widened so big that they could almost hit the ground. She was...wordless.

She turned back to look at Tomoyo and Rika. "No, Sakura. You're not hallucinating," Tomoyo whispered dangerously, as if she, too, was experiencing hardship to contain herself.

"I'm so sorry," Rika's bent low.

They squeezed their way into the bus after Sakura recovered from her trauma.

"Sakura, Mike, Tomoyo and Rika are present," Sakura said in an expressionless tone to Syaoran, who ticked off their names. Behind them, the jealousy attacks by the girls drowned out immediately when the bus door closed shut.

"Thank you," Syaoran thanked reluctantly at her tone of voice and handed the attendance to Kei Sensei, a grade 10 Biology teacher who was seated in the first row.

"Mike, you sit in the 6th row on the left. Rika and Tomoyo, you two sit in the first row on the right, and Sakura you sit in the last row on the left," Syaoran instructed them their seating arrangements. Without looking at him, Sakura stolled down the bus faintly, while listening to the chatters of the class mates.

"Sakura!" an urgent voice whispered among the quiet chatters. Sakura looked up from her ipod and found the owner of the voice. Mike's gelled-disarrays stood out in the crowd up front. Three-fourth of his face was covered by the grey seat except for his beautiful, soft brown eyes. "Come sit here, nobody's sitting beside me!"

As she slowly stood up to leave her seat, she suddenly bumped into something which she recognized as a stong-built muscular chest. The person, who smelled so good, stood frozen like a statue. "S-sorry," Sakura apologized, looking up at the person. Simultaneously, voices in the bus started to move in high speed, murmuring things between each other. "Sakura, where are you heading to?" the voice that was so easily to be recognized and could make anybody faint belonged to Syaoran. His fake velvety voice echoed inside her mind like an unescapable haunt. "I'm going to sit beside Mike."

"I'm sorry but no seat-switching is allowed. Plus, the bus is already moving, it's way too dangerous."

"So why are you up?" Sakura asked accusingly.

"That's because I'm your bus partner for the day," he answered nonchalantly.

"Oh."

"Yes, please sit down," he insisted as he sat down beside her in the space that she made for him.

Defeatedly, she slipped out her phone from her bag and texted to Mike, explaining the situation.

**I can't sit beside you because "no seat-switching is allowed." Be good Mikey**

She closed her phone and replaced it back into her bag. Syaoran scrutinized her every move quietly. "Are you and Mike Tendou dating?" he asked out of pure curiosity, with additional unintentional demand.

"I don't think that's not any of your business," Sakura smiled coldly. She returned to her ipod surfing. After a while, she asked, "Why did you change your decision?" He didn't answer, and she looked up to find him not paying attention to her anymore but to the girls sitting around them.

"What's your favourite food, Syaoran?" a girl with short black curls asked excitedly.

"Hmmm, anything that you can cook pretty," Syaoran replied back in his velvety voice.

Sakura had to admit, his smile was...breath-taking and could make every girl's heart stop. His beautiful amber eyes were especially emphasized that day due to the weather and his always-messy brown hair. The girl looked like she was going to hyperventilate.

_'Is he ignoring me on purpose_?' Sakura thought angrily.

"Sakura, you and Mike are so cute together. If you guys ever secretly date, please, please tell me. I will support you guys for sure," another girl noted when she saw Sakura listening to their conversation.

"We're just friends," Sakura replied sweetly.

Syaoran turned around to face her after she answered. His eyes were intent. "Did you say something?" Then, they returned back to the normal fake smiles.

_'So he was ignoring me on purpose_!'

"Nothing," she said in anger without looking at him and retrieved her ipod.

For the rest of the ride, it was quiet between the two. However, the same story might not apply to Syaoran and the girls, who weren't exactly the type who Syaoran would want to date; they're too innocent for his taste.

* * *

"Ahhhh!! I'm going to fall Mike!" Sakura shrieked from the top of her lungs when Mike took his supporting hands away from hers on the ice.

Tomoyo quickly skated towards her before she fell onto the ice. Her other friends giggled at her little incident while they skated around them.

Jun was helping Rika just like Mike was helping Sakura to learn how to skate, except for the additional video-tapper, Tomoyo, who has been filming her from when she was putting on her skates. The others were like professional figure skaters. Amongst them, Tomoyo was the best because the heiress always had to learn many things when she was little. When she skated, she was like the damn beautiful angel who fell from the heaven.

Surprisingly, the whole field trip was so far good and...peaceful. Syaorana and his friends were no where to be seen from the beginning, so the fans were very normal. The skating rink was 2 times bigger than the last few years to accomodate the bigger group of students. It could hold a capacity of 2000 people, the size of a professional skating rink for the figure skating performances. This was one of the advantages the students had for attending a rich school.

"If you let go of me again, you won't live for long. Promise," Sakura screeched into Mike's ears.

"You won't learn like that," Mike complained, trying to block his ears.

"Mike, just teach her in a gentle easy way. Look at Rika and Jun. All beginners are like that. They need support until they feel comfortable enough by themselves," Tomoyo cut in, who paused her video camera to talk.

The others nodded in agreement. Sakura looked pleased to find her friends siding with her.

"Okay fine. I won't let go of you unless you specifically say 'I want to skate by myself.' Promise," his poor imitation of Sakura's voice failed. Sakura's eyebrows raised into disbelieve.

"I promise!" Mike's gloved hands stretched out to take Sakura's and looked seriously into her eyes. Unwantedly, she blushed slightly at his cute but serious facade.

"Fine," Sakura smiled in satisfaction.

"I-I can't! **OOFFFF!!"** After a while, Sakura fell forward, on top of Mike, who made sure that he was on the bottom, keeping her away from the hard ice.

"Hey are you guys okay?" Tomoyo rushed over in concern.

Sakura tried to get up with no success and fell back onto Mike's muscle-toned body.

"Here, I'll give you a hand," unexpectedly, the unmistakable sexy voice of Syaoran Li came out of no where. She looked up from Mike's chest.

Syaoran's expression was cold, emotionless, but still keeping his hot, sexy look. His amber eyes were intent, the right arm was stretched out towards Sakura. Amber met Emerald. Suddenly, an eruption of screams of excitement and murmurs began to fill in the skating arena like a zoo running wild.

"Oh, Syaoran's here!"

"She's such a bitch!"

"Man, the two hottest guys in the school are having a showdown."

"It's showdown, guys!"

"Syaoran! I'm falling! Help ME up!"

"Syaoran Li! Don't help her up! Kiss me!"

As if he's the famous celebrity around, everybody rushed over to where the three of them were. Then, cameras started flashing and the screams went wilder.

Mike held his weight up with the support of his elbows and looked dangerously into Syaoran's amber eyes. Anticipating the intense atmosphere around her, Sakura looked back and forth between the two of them, who stared each other down dangerously, having no idea why a tiny fall on the ice suddenly turned into the worst showdown that could ever happen in the history...

**TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

**Valkyrie85:** Hey guys! That's the end of chapter 3. I'm sorry about last week. I gave myself a week off because it was March Break. I hope you liked the chapter. Please review! The button's right down there! Even one word/letter will doo!! Let's try to aim to 35 reviews this time. Anyways, if you would like me to reply to your review please tell me in the review and I will reply for sure. Stay tuned for the next chapter...showdown!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Val:**Thank you all! Thank you so so much for those extraordinary reviews! I read each and every one of them carefully, and I knew the last chapter was very successful! Your reviews are SUPER important to me for I need feedbacks to keep me motivated. Just like the last few chapters, my gratitude goes to those who read my story but didn't review as well. Please tell me if you want a reply for your review.

**Complications-Chapter 4**

* * *

Sakura was, one word, confused to why her little fall on the ice--an exception along with Mike--could provoke such an intense and dangerous glaring showdown between Mike and Syaoran. Not only that, why on Earth was Syaoran Li offering his help? Still as confused, she reached out her hand towards Syaoran's out-stretched arm, that looked firm and attractive to the eyes of every audience in the skating rink, with only one purpose to get up from Mike and the cold ice.

_'Don't...Don't do it. You're hurting yourself again.'_ an inner voice deep inside Sakura flowed into her head.

She stopped in the midst of her reach. Then, as suddenly, a new surge of pain struck her body like lightning. Her heart felt like it was going to explode any second. She couldn't breathe, couldn't hear, couldn't smell, basically she blanked out the noisy background of the skating rink and could only feel the painful pounding of her heart that can shatter her heart into thousands of pieces.

Her unaware private self-defense and sharp instincts inside of her told her to stay away from Syaoran Li, the man who broke her heart with an easy strike almost 1 year ago.

She withdrew her hand from the direction towards his and backed her whole body away from him hurtfully.

"Tomoyo, a little help please," she pleaded in a whisper that was just loud enough for Tomoyo's distance.

"S-sorry," Tomoyo skated over quickly and pulled Sakura's now-fragile body up.

**"Wow, she's quite the idiot, rejecting Syaoran Li's offer like that." Then murmurs started to overflow the skating rink**.

**"My Syaoran Li!"**

**"Bitch!"**

**"Look at Syaoran's face. He's so hurt!"**

**"Slut!"**

With the help of Tadashi and Hikaru, Mike got up with ease. Movements occured amongst the crowd, except for Syaoran who stood frozen on the spot like a broken male version porceline doll. His shoulders dropped low and his beautiful but messy chocolate brown hair covered over his closed-amber eyes. Majority of the crowd soon rushed over to his side to comfort him without hesitation, while the left-overs returned back to skating without caring a bit.

"Sakura, are you alright? You look awful!" Rika cried out worriedly. She held Sakura's face between her gloved hands. Her other friends gathered around her with worry as well.

The Sakura they all knew was broken, fully broken. This was a repitition of what she'd looked like after her breakup with Syaoran Li. This was the exact expression...lifeless was the word.

"I'm okay," her voice was just louder than a whisper.

"I don't know why but my heart was racing so fast back there like it was going to shatter."

"Tomoyo, you should take her to the cafe outside, Sakura needs some tea," Mike suggested, staring ahead in Syaoran's direction with impatience. Tomoyo nodded and followed the other girls and Sakura towards the exist. The five guys were left.

"Buddy, are **YOU** alright?" Rei tapped Mike's shoulder lightly.

"No I'm not."

"I know you're mad at him. We all are. But, chillax alright. We don't have to do this here," Rei tugged on his sleeves harder this time when Mike wanted to run.

"Let go of me NOW!" Mike tried to pull free. Then, the other four all grasped onto him with their full force.

"Mike, you can't do this here!" Rei yelled.

"MIKE! Listen to Rei," Hikaru yelled as well.

"FINE!" Mike stopped his pulls.

"SYAORAN LI!" he yelled above the calming voices of the fan crowd.

The girls stopped shortly after, and each of them made way between Syaoran and Mike. Syaoran looked at him dangerously, "Yes?"

"You fuckin' bastard! Don't you EVER show your face with Sakura around, or else I'll beat you up even if it means to fight past your damn body guards!"

With one last deadly glare, Mike stomped off follwed by the other guys, each showing him his fist.

The crowd around Syaoran silenced for a few minutes but no later, erupted into rude comments.

**"Are you kidding me? Syaoran, he can't possibly beat YOU up! You're too good for him!" a girl shrieked in** **disgus**t.

**"Yeah! You're too good!" the others agreed**.

**"In his dreams!" a soloist with brunette pixie cut and big boobs called out**.

"Sexy, what's your name?" Syaoran walked towards her with a genuine smile. The tip of his finger lifted up her face. "Jade," she answered possessively.

"Why don't we go out for dinner tonight?" he whispered into her ears.

"Yes," the girl answered with a crooked smile.

* * *

"Sakura, tomorrow's Saturday are you free?" Tomoyo asked on the way to her awaiting shiny limo and cool-looking body guards.

"Of course, why?"

"Well, I read about a new cafe yesterday in the magazine. Their deserts looked delicious so I was wondering if we should try them out tomorrow."

"YUP! Let's go! I'm dying to try new deserts!" her always-joyful personality was back to normal after the skating rink incident.

"Alright. I'll pick you up tomorrow at 11:00 then," Tomoyo waved goodbye as one of her body guards opened the car door.

"Bye!" Sakura waved back.

**At the Cafe**

"This cafe looks so cute. Look at the waitresses! They're all wearing maid uniforms!" Tomoyo whispered to Sakura excitedly. The cafe they were in, called Maid Latte, was designed to be a western-style maid cafe with everything decorated into cute and maid-like designs. At noon, it seemed, there were very many people. Perhaps, it was because it was Saturday and the weather was extremely nice for an early-February day.

"Could I have the Green Tea Piece and an Angel's Love for her please," Sakura ordered their cakes to the well-dressed maid waitress who had short black hair.

"And would you like it to be served with some drinks?"

"Yes. A Strawberry Creme Frapacino and an espresso for her. Thank You." Sakura handed the menu to the waitress.

"So, this seems to be a good place to hang out. We should come here with Mike and them some other time," said Sakura.

Tomoyo smirked. "Yes, of course."

"What's with that smirk?"

"Nothing."

"Tomoyo, what are you trying to imply?"

"Nothng Sakura. I just find you and Mike make a really good couple. That's all." Tomyo leaned back against her chair.

"You know very well that we're just friends," Sakura unintentionally blushed.

"I know Sakura. However, sometimes friendships could turn into love when you're not aware of it."

"So? We're just friends, though."

"What I mean is...don't you think Mike has feelings for you that are a bit more than normal friendship?" She leaned towards Sakura and whispered softly.

"N-Not at all," Sakura blushed.

"See, I can tell that you know I'm right about this."

"Well...Tomoyo. I guess I can never keep secrets from you, huh?"

Tomoyo looked pleased that she knew all of her best friend's secrets.

"I am aware of his actions sometimes, but I will never date him. I am just great friends with him, that's all," Sakura explained.

"Some suggetions. Sometimes, you need to keep some distance from him even as a friend so that he won't get the wrong impression. Make sure you do it carefully without hurting his feelings, though."

"Yes," Sakura nodded understandingly, and she looked up from the glass table. "Our deserts are here!" The awkward atmosphere was suddenly broken when the waitress walked towards their table with their deserts and drinks.

Sakura knew for sure that Mike had feelings for her. However, no matter how prominent that admiration was, she would never date him because she only thought of him as a friend. They shared a strong friendship that will never change. Even though she was so sure of it, sometimes she just seemed to forget that they had to keep the "distance" that Tomoyo was mentioning. They were always too "close" for normal friends.

* * *

**Val:Well, how was it? This chapter was probably the shortest in this story so far. I cannot promise that this will be the first and the last one for short chapters, though. Sorry! This time, I finally updated this story on time! Maybe you guys can forgive me for writing such a short chapter? LOl please read and review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Val:**Sorry for the delay everyone! I was busy with so many things in the last two weeks so I didn't have time to update. Here is finally the long awaited chapter. Let's aim for 65 reviews this time, please?? ENJOY!

**Complications-Chapter 5**

* * *

**Flashback Grade 10**

_"Sakura how do I do this question?" Syaoran's misty amber eyes looked up through his long eyelashes while pointing at the question with his pen._

_As a response, Sakura wrote out the formula with her pencil lightly on the page. "Hm...this one you square root the number and then divide it by x which equals 1 over 2x."_

_Syaoran's heart raced rapidly like a waterfall. Inside the quiet small V.I.P. room of their school's cafeteria, Syaoran's unwanted fast heartbeat was probably loud enough to echo through the room. The beating brought beautiful shades of red on his masculin feature. Their lunch time every day was spent like this ever since they started dating. As peaceful as it seemed of a world with only the two of them, behind those closed doors and blind folds were always eavesdroppers who desperately wanted to get involved. Despite the extra ears outside, Sakura and Syaoran were fine as long as they were together._

_"I see," sigh, "what am I supposed to do without you Sakura? Without you, I'd be failing by now!" Syaoran's velvet voice exclaimed teasingly._

_"Is that why you asked me out, to tutor you and help improve your grades?" Sakura asked hurtfully._

_Syaoran gently removed the auburn strands that fell on the girl's face, while his other hand softly caressed her warm cheek._

_"No," he pleaded, "you know that's not what I meant Sakura."_

_Syaoran took her face into both of his hands and connected his eyes with her sad emerald eyes. Slowly, softly, she closed her eyes as his lips sealed with hers_.

**End of Flashback**

* * *

**Present-Grade 11**

"Sakura, wake up. It's time for class!" the familiar soothing voice whispered urgently. The owner shook the resting head on the cafeteria table quickly.

The figure, with mid-back beautiful emerald hair, scanned the empty cafeteria as she rubbed her sleepy eyes slowly.

"Wow, how long did I nap for?" she asked the girl standing beside her.

"Not long, but we're already late for Math." the amethyst-eyed girl, Tomoyo, reached out a hand towards Sakura.

With her support, Sakura rose dizzily. "Are you sure you don't want to go home? You're head's so hot," Tomoyo questioned, worry was all over her feature.

"I'm sure. Let's go."

Sakura faintedly leaned on Tomoyo's body for support while the two of them sauntered down the quiet hallway. Every step Sakura took, her vision became slightly blurry than the previous, and then everything around her became blank.

"Sakura!" Tomoyo exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her waist. She placed her gently on the floor and ran to her classroom.

"Dai-" The teacher absorbed skeptically at the panting Tomoyo.

"Miss! S-Sakura's fainted in the hallway! Please help me carry her to the Infirmary!" Her breathless voice sounded choppy while she multi-tasked to take long breaths at the same time.

The room was silent. Nobody moved for what seemed like 5 minutes, but then Syaoran pushed out of his desk and bluntly rushed out the door, pushing Tomoyo slightly out of the way. Everybody gazed at the large blue door where Syaoran had just ran out, shockingly.

"Hey," a guy with glasses tapped his friend's shoulder sitting in front of him, "is it just me or didn't Syaoran just ran out? Why does he look so worried?"

"Well, Sakura is his ex. I can't imagine a gentleman like him would ignore helping when something like this happens," replies his friend.

"Hey! What's going on betweent he two of them?" another chirpped.

"Eww, don't tell me he still has feelings for her?!"

Murmurs started to flow into the room once again, just like the other times when Syaoran made a surprising move.

"Class! Class! SILENT Please! Tomoyo, why did Sakura faint?" In a ginger tone, the teacher asked Tomoyo who was just as astounded as the others.

"S-She caught a cold yesterday from cheerleading practice. Then it worsened and now she's fainted."

"Please take this slip and head to the infirmary with Syaoran." The teacher handed her a green permission slip as she rushed out the door immediately, "You two are excused from class for the afternoon." With a small nod, Tomoyo followed after out the blue door.

* * *

"Sakura? Please be okay." Through the empty hallway, Syaoran carried Sakura in his arms to the Infirmary, worry all over his face.

"Miss, she fainted in the hallway because of her fever. Please give her some medicine," Syaoran settled Sakura on the white bed.

A middle-aged woman with grayish brown hair and warm brown eyes appeared from her office, her expression very anxious. Syaoran lowered his head so that his forehead touched Sakura's.

"Miss! She's burning! Please do SOMETHING!" Syaoran cried out in impatience.

"She'll be fine. She just needs some rest," said the nurse. Her previous anxiety left her feature slightly after checking Sakura's temperature.

"So she'll be okay?" Tomoyo came into the Infirmary with the green slip in her hand.

"Yes. I'll give her some Advil and she'll be fine."

"Are you sure? Are you sure her temperature's not damaging her brain or anything?" Syaoran still asked in disbelieve.

"Yes, Syaoran. She'll be perfectly fine," answered the woman. She started writing information on a clip board, possibly a report of Sakura's illness.

"You can go back to class now, Syaoran and-," the woman turned her attention to Tomoyo.

"Miss, we got permission to be excused this afternoon," Tomoyo showed her the slip.

The kind nurse smiled and walked off. "Very well then, please take a seat."

"So, you can leave if you want Syaoran," Tomoyo suggested as she sat down on the chair across from him.

"Should this be the first thing you say to a person who brought the patient here?" Syaoran asked politely in a teasing tone.

He smirked and returned his captivating gaze back to the Sakura who's breath was even now.

"Thank **YOU**," she emphasized, "for bringing her here. It was very kind of you to do so," her tone was polite with bitter coldness. "As much as I appreciate it, I still have to warn you to keep a distance from Sakura."

"Why?"

"You ask me why? Well, let me remind you the things you did to harm her." Tomoyo played with a strand of her hair as she glared at Syaoran's face.

"Alright," putting up his hands in defeat, Syaoran leaned back on his chair, as far from Sakura as possible, "happy?"

"Half. I'd like it if you disappear right away...please."

"I'm sorry but I can't do that. I was brought up to look after the people in need once I get myself involved," Syaoran crossed his arms across his masculin chest. Tomoyo's face dropped and became very quiet.

"So..." Syaoran said after a while of total silence just listening to Sakura's slow breathing.

"Hm?"

"Why is Sakura sick?"

"Yesterday afterschool she had cheerleading practice and didn't wear enough cloth after. You know when people suddenly feel cold then warm. Yeah, that's how she became sick." Tomoyo''s hand stroked Sakura's auburn hair softly.

"Oh. Then why did she come to school if she's so sick?"

"She didn't want to bring trouble to her family. Silly girl isn't she?"

"Very," agreed Syaoran nodding his head slowly, with his intense eyes on Sakura.  
Sakura shifted uncomfortably on her bed. "W-"

"What is it Sakura? Are you feeling alright?" Syaoran asked, his face terrified. He placed his hand on her cheek and ignored Tomoyo's deathly glare.

"W-water," Sakura cried breathlessly.

"Please wait. I'll be right back." Syaoran hurried away out the door with a glass cup.

"Sakura, the water is coming," Tomoyo stroked her cheeks comfortingly, then her cell phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"Tomoyo, where are you and Sakura?" the voice on the other line questioned in a somewhat relieved tone.

"Hey Mike. What's up? Um... Sakura and I are in the Infirmary right now. She fainted in the hallway today so I stayed here with her since after lunch."

"**SHE FAINTED**!?" Mike restated anxiously. From the other side of the line, Tomoyo heard his car's engine incresingly speeding.

"Mike?"

"I'm sorry. I thought you guys already left school. I'm going back right now. Wait for me okay? Is anyone else with you right now?"

"Um...about that..." Tomoyo cut off hesitantly, clueless to whether she should tell Mike that Syaoran was with them.

"Yes? About it?"

"Tomoyo, Sakura is sweating too much. Do you have an extra top or something?" Syaoran's voice suddenly became so close to Tomoyo's ears like he was talking into them. Tomoyo turned her head to find Syaoran just 10cm away from her ears. 'Why is he all of a sudden talking so closely?' Tomoyo thought suspiciously.

"TOMOYO! Is Syaoran Li there too?!" Mike basically yelled angrily into the phone.

For a minute there, Tomoyo literally forgot that she was still on the phone with Mike, who had obviously heard everything. Then, the bulb inside her head lit up quickly. "Yes, Mike. Syaoran is here too. He was the one who carried Sakura to the Infirmary." Her voice was determined and her expression smug with some sort of playful attitude dancing in her eyes.

"I'm almost there, see you." Mike hung up.

"So...? Did you enjoy your little jealousy attack there, Syaoran?" Tomoyo's eyes met Syaoran's amber ones. He sat back down on his chair across from her and pursed his lips slightly.

"Jealousy attack are two strong words Tomoyo. I was just trying to amend some natural emotions that Mike lack so much of." His perfect lips smiled half-crookedly. The same playfulness existed in his eyes like someone waiting for the most anticipated event to start.

* * *

**Val: AND THAT'S THE END OF THIS CHAPTER! I am really, really, really sorry for the delay!!! I was so busy with things so didn't have time to write. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. PLEASE REVIEW.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Val:** Thank you all for the reviews. I loved reading them very much! Please read and review!

**Complications-Chapter 6**

* * *

**Dream**

The warm dazzling sunshine penetrated through Sakura's window, with birds conversing songfully outside. In the dull, pale-green room, Sakura lied on her bed uncomfortably, rolling back and forth and kicking her blanket away from her heating body, but only to have it cover her again by a pair of gentle hands.

"Sakura, dear," the velvet voice came out like an angle from heaven. Sakura opened her exhausted eyes slowly. The person who was caressing her cheeks gently was the most beautiful person on Earth. She had translucent white creamy skin, slender body, soft misty grey eyes and long, delicate grey hair (not because of age). Her name was Nadeshiko Kinomoto, Sakura's most beloved mother.

She looked nothing like Sakura except for her gentleness that was fully passed down to Sakura. Nadeshiko had kneeled beside Sakura ever since last night. Her continuous accompaniment was the only reason why Sakura healed so quickly. "Mom," Sakura complained, taking Nadeshiko's warm hands in hers.

"How are you feeling, my dear?"

"Better than last night," Sakura replied with a small smile. Her mother's eyes appeared a sign of relief, replacing her wariness. "That's great. I'm glad. I will go downstairs tomake some porridge. So please go back to sleep." With one more stroke against Sakura's cheek, she got up and closed the bedroom door quietly.

* * *

**Reality-Infirmary**

"Mom, I feel sick. Mom!" Sakura caught the warm smooth hand that was stroking her hair quickly and snapped her eyes open. The person turned out to be Tomoyo, who she was glad to see but at the same time, disappointed because she wasn't her mother.

"You had a dream about Aunt Nadeshiko, again, Sakura?" Tomoyo frowned.

"Yes, she was so gentle, so warm...so real." Sakura stared at the white bed sheet that was covered over her body as a small droplet of tear rolled down her cheek.

"Sakura, even though Aunty is gone, she's still with you in the heaven. You still have me, Uncle Fujitaka and Touya. We all love you so much." Sakura was suddenly, but expectedly, pulled into Tomoyo's tight embrace.

"I know, I just miss her too much."

In the silence, the clock ticked its way into seconds and minutes. It was comfortable as Sakura breathed in Tomoyo's vanilla fragrance. The scent intoxicated her thoughts of her deceased mother.

**_Tick...tick tick_**

"What's that noise," Sakura asked, pushing Tomoyo slightly away, confused. There was a low, unintelligible hissing coming from the other side of the closed infirmary doors across from where they were. As if in some sort of pattern, the crisp hisses alternated back and forth between two things.

_**Short.** **Long. Short. Short. Long**._

It was as if people were conversing--more like arguing in an agitated manner. Tomoyo returned the gaze absent-mindedly and herlips clasped together tightly.

"Are you able to walk?" We need to do some traveling."

Sakura, still looked confused, got up from the bed with Tomoyo's strolled towards the double blue doors. Tomoyo pushed one of them open until the both of them could peek outside.

"Didn't I tell you NOT to show yourself when she's around?" the first voice growled coldly.

"I don't have a reason to follow your order, Mike," a second voice replied casually that made it sound more like a threat instead.

Sakura absorbed their conversation quietly, fully understanding who "her" was. She wasn't surprised to see Syaoran there because she was half conscious when he carried her to he Infirmary. She wasn't surprised that Mike was also there because he somehow always knew where she was.

What she was really appalled for was where their conversation was heading.

"I have every right to make you follow this order. You are the reason why she got hurt. You are the reason why she shed so much tears for an unworthy person like you. You are the reason why she's not moving onto another relationship! Do you realize that whenever you act so normal around her, she gets hurt?" Mike's voice was furious--beyond descriptions.

He glared at Syaoran frightenly. Because Syaoran's back was facing the doors, Tomoyo and Sakura did not see his expression. Sakura wanted to push her way out because she had enough but was stopped by Tomoyo.

"Shh!" she warned. "Stand still!" Sakura obeyed unwillingly.

"Even if that's the case, I'm still her ex. I deserve to do whatever I want," Syaoran's voice came out perfectly at ease.

Had enough of the whole thing, Sakura pushed past Tomoyo and the doors to where Mike and Syaoran both stood. Both of their faces were filled with surprise.

They did not expect her to hear the conversation. She placed her hand on Mike's arm and said, "C'mon Mike, you should say thank you to Syaoran, right? He was the one who carried me here." Sakura faked a smile at Mike who returned the look suspiciously.

"Thank you, Syaoran, very very much," Sakura gratefully thanked, without making eye contact with Syaoran and pulled Mike by the arm towards the double doors.

Tomoyo and Syaoran were the only ones left in the empty hallway.

"Pleased, are you?" Tomoyo asked with dark sarcasm.

"Yes, very," Syaoran replied, his eyes far away.

"You really don't know what you had done to her, do you?" Without waiting for Syaoran's answer, Tomoyo re-entered the Infirmary. Syaoran stared at her retreating back confusedly.

* * *

Sonomi Daidoui, Tomoyo's mother,owned a well-known national toy company. Of course, Tomoyo is an automatic heiress since she's the only child. However, her incomparable sense of fashion aroused a totally unrelated dream of owning her own fashion line some day in the future.

That's the reason why most of Sakura's gowns/special occasion dresses were always made by her. Sakura loved the dresses she made but didn't like it when Tomoyo asked her to try clothes on all day. Today was the day, except there was less clothes-trying time.

Sakura and Tomoyo spent the whole morning drinking tea in Tomoyo's humongous garden under the beaming sun.

"I want you to wear green this Valentine's day. At the dance, a lot of people might be wearing pink or any other shades of red," Tomoyo said without looking up from her sketches. She'd been sketching out dresses for Sakura the whole morning while Sakura tried out different desserts.

"Hm...dance." Sakura took a sip of her aroma tea.

"Who are you going to the dance with?"

"Mike." This made Tomoyo look up from her sketching, something she so rarely did when she was occupied with drawing.

"Oh?" Tomoyo's eyebrows raised in sarcasm. "You rejected the 12th grader?"

"Please. I don't even know that guy. I just spoke to him once in the hallway when I helped him pick up his books, the other day." Sakura defended.

"But he sure knows you. Just one conversation and he's already asking you to the dance." Tomoyo smirked.

"You're going with Eriol right?"

"Of course. He's by boyfriend," Tomoyo sounded as if she was talking to a mentally disabled person.

"Alright, I'll see you there."

* * *

**Val: There you go guys! I had a major music exam last week so I had to study, study, study. Sorry for the delay!!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Valkyrie85:** Guys. I'm slightly disappointed that the last chapter only received so few reviews. Do you know what's worse than flaming a story? It's when you read a story and DON'T review! I really, really want to know what you think about my story. For me, not receiving reviews is a torture. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! Flaming is accepted!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the CCS characters. Only the plot do I own.

**Complications-Chapter 7**

* * *

**February 13th**

_Beeeeeeeeeeeeep..._

"Hello, this is Syaoran Li. I am currently unavailable to answer the call, but if you leave a message, I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you." Syaoran spoke in an authorized tone.

"Syaoran Li! Where the hell are you? I've been trying to reach you all day! If you don't call back before 11:00, you will not live to see tomorrow's sun rise!" A female voice yelled into the phone from another line. Her voice was unbelivably high. As fast as it came, she hung up loudly. After this encounter, Syaoran's huge apartment returned back to its original silence.

* * *

**February 14th- Valentine's Day Dance**

"Seriously, just dance Sakura! Nobody's going to care!" Mike grabbed Sakura's hands and wrapped them around his neck while his arms wrapped around her waist. The two began swinging to the beat of the music, well at least Mike was. Sakura looked around her surrounding to find everybody sinking into the music, dancing like only they existed. This made her calm down a bit. "See, nobody's looking," Mike pointed out when he noticed her looking. He smiled encouragingly. His dimples made a prominent dent on the two sides of his cheeks.

Dancing was another talent that Sakura unfortunately did not possess. Her body was simply too rigid to do any dancing involving flexibility. Throughout the whole dance, Sakura had to follow Mike everywhere so that none other than him could witness her embarassing moments. Eriol and Tomoyo were just perfect when they danced, embraced warmly into each other's arms. The other friends might not have the best dancing skills, but they were people who were willing to take risks. Therefore, they danced however they liked.

"You look so beautiful tonight," Mike complimented on Sakura's pine green vintage dress. Her hair was pulled up into a loose bun that went well with her easy-looking gown. Sakura pulled off this look perfectly. The colour of her hazy emerald eyes tonight matched her beautiful dress, fully hand-made by Tomoyo.

Once she stepped onto the dance floor, she simply became the centre of attention. Many seniors and juniors asked her to dance with them, but she rejected them due to her lack of knowledge in dancing. She stayed faithfully by Mike's side the whole evening, ignoring her close male friends' invites along as well.

Sakura was at ease when dancing with Mike. In Tomoeda High's humongous cafeteria, filled with two thousand-something people, she was always relaxed when she stayed by his side. Although she couldn't dance, following Mike's choreographed-like moves, she felt like she could actually dance just like the others.

As the two of them slowly moved under the massive disco ball light, Mike tightened his grasp around Sakura's waist. From not far away, they heard girls awe-ing and heavy breathing. The two of them, just like a few other pairs, turned towards the source of such awkward sounds as they saw a bunch of girls in beautiful gowns, surrounding the resting lounge where students could hang out when they didn't feel like dancing.

"Sorry girls. I need a break from al that dancing. We'll dance with you guys in a few minutes, alright?" Syaoran's sexy low voice suggested. Sitting beside him were his two best friends, Takumi and Ryu, both sipping their drinks. Syaoran waved the girls goodbye as they unwillingly left for Syaoran and his friends' return onto the dance floor, later.

"Syaoran Li. Could I have some of your undivided attention please" asked Ryu in an irritated voice. Syaoran's eyes blinked twice and looked at his black-haired friend. "Yes?"

"What's going on with you, dude? You haven't been paying much attention tonight to anything." Takumi shook his head.

"Actually," Ryu added, "he has. Just not the things he should be but he has. His 'very divided attention' was given to an undesirable girl who he's confessed to have no interest in. However, his actions betray his words once again."

"Stop your big 'I know your secret' talk, okay Ryu. I'm sorry for not paying attention to you but I did not look at anybody too much in particular tonight. Nobody here is good enough for me," Syaoran replied, slightly impatient.

Takumi and Ryu exchanged an unintelligible look. "So, what was your question?" Syaoran asked, clueless about their looks.

"Oh yah. She is coming? Why though?" Ryu questioned fascinatedly. "I seriously don't know. If I did, I wish I could back fire her so she couldn't come." Syaoran replied, knowing perfectly well who 'she' was.

"How long is she staying for?" Takumi cut in. "I have no idea about any of this. I went home yesterday and listened to her message. I called her back and she said she was going to come on February 15th and told me to pick her up at the airport," Syaoran recalled.

"Wow, as demanding as ever," Takumi complimented. Ryu and Syaoran nodded at once. "Do you want us to come with you?" added Ryu after a few minutes. "No thanks. She will be very troublesome."

"Your pretty cherry blossom is in a quite intimate position. I wonder what's her relationship with that guy?" Takumi smirked while pointing at whoever he was talking about with his chin. Syaoran looked over and found Sakura and Mike still swinging to a slow beat with their arms wrapped around each other.

"They're just friends," Syaoran said, irritated. Sakura and Mike danced their way further towards the other side of the cafeteria, farther away from where Syaoran was.

"Who's she?" asked Takumi. A girl with a small pixie face in a baby blue gown sauntered over towards Sakura, with a drink in hand. "Don't know."

"Sakura-sempai!" Sarah Kwon chirpped excitedly. Sakura smiled back and hugged Sarah gently. "How are you, Sarah? Enjoying the party?" Sakura asked. Sarah nodded happily. "Yes! This dance is great! I saw you dancing with Mike. You guys looked great together! Are you two dating?"

"Um...no, we're not, Sarah," Sakura blushed at the compliment on how she danced. "Well, that's still cool! How's it going with you these days?"

_The two of them conversed joyfully for the rest of the night..._

* * *

"Attention passengers who are flying to New York. Please bord the plane immediately at gate 52. Thank You."

Syaoran had arrived at the Arrival area in Terminal 3 at International Japan Airport. He, along with many others who were waiting for their family/friends, stood there patiently with signs, waiting for the double doors to open up.

His hands were tucked in his navy blue jacket pockets, for he did not need a sign to show the person who was arriving where he was. Amongst the crowd, he stood near the front, the closest to the ramp leading to the double doors. Although he did not notice them, people around him constantly took small peaks at this unbelivably handsome man with messy brown hair and aviator shades.

When the double doors finally swung open, people started filing out along with their suitcases in tow. Finally, a tall woman with over-sized shades walked out of the double doors in a brown long coat. She did not have a suitcase behind her. Instead, her hand carried a Gucci traveling bag. She walked off the ramp and saw Syaoran standing right in front of her.

"Long time no see, Mei Ling. How was your flight?" Syaoran greeted while taking off his sunglasses. He offered to carry her handbag. Mei Ling naturally handed over to him without reacting much that it was Syaoran Li who offered. "It was good," Mei Ling replied with a small smile. She opened her arms and hugged Syaoran tightly. "Thank you for picking me up today, Syaoran. Wo zheng de tai gan xie ni le!" Mei Ling sounded sarcastic. (I really appreciate you picking me up today.)

"Any time. I can never ever reject Mei Ling Li, right? Or else, she'll chop my head off into pieces!"

"I'm glad you know the consequences."

"Shall we? My car is outside." Mei Ling nodded and took Syaoran's other hand as they headed off towards the parking lot door.

Once Syaoran put the carry-on in the front trunk, he started his engine. Mei Ling was already waiting in the pasenger seat, her sunglasses taken off. The two of them shared similar features, especially their misty amber eyes. Mei Ling's long, silky black hair was something that they had very much in difference.

"Wow, Japan hasn't changed much," Mei Ling commented on the buildings that they went past by.

"How much of a difference do you expect a city to change in merely 3 months, Mei Ling? The last time you came here with Fei Fei was only 3 months ago." Uncontrollably, Syaoran rolled his eyes.

"Hong Kong did. A lot since the last time you visited there."

"And that was how long ago?" asked Syaoran humorously.

This time, it wa Mei Ling's turn to roll her big eyes.

"What is your purpose of coming to Japan this time, Mei Ling?" Syaoran questioned, his voice suddenly nervous.

"Oh please. Don't talk like I'm up to something bad. Aunty Yelan told me to come and take care of some things."

"For instance?"

"For instance, something that is none of your concern." Syaoran's perfect eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"Aunty Yelan told me to stay here until I take care of it. Before that, she told me to stay in your apartment." Mei Ling looked out the car window once again. The car was making its way up a hill. She knew they were close to Syaoran's apartment.

"Sure, no problem. Any time anywhere."

It was silent for a few minutes as Syaoran's yellow porsche drove towards an area with a few low buildings that looked very modern. There were penthouses above every one of them.

"Therefore, I would appreciate it if you could respect my personal space while I stay at your place. You wouldn't feel comfortable having your own little fun with your girlfriends while another female is present, would you?" Mei Ling open the door as the car came to a haul.

No words came from Syaoran for he knew what she meant. However, he stood frozen in his seat like he was thinking.

"Oh yes, another thing," Mei Ling's head popped back into the car, which surprised Syaoran a bit, "there will be a few interns coming in tomorrow to the company. Aunty wants the two of us to attend the welcoming conference tomorrow."

"What?" Syaoran asked in disbelief. "How come I have to go! I never had to go before."

"Well, now you do," Mei Ling said as she opened the trunk to get her bag.

"No, I'm not going."

Mei Ling closed the trunk and carressed the surface of Syaoran's yellow porsche. "This is a shame that this beautiful car would have to suffer consequences when its owner's the one making the mistakes." Her amber eyes shot back to Syaoran's. "If you don't, Aunty will cut back your credit cards and take your car away." Mei Ling walked off, signaling the end of their conversation.

Syaoran could only stare at her back shockingly. What is the purpose of her visit? Why the meetings all of a sudden? Syaoran regretted his excitement of Mei Ling's visit as he was not prepared for all these new changes. He sort of knew his life with his cousin from now on would not be something he should never anticipate again.

* * *

Valkyrie: This is the chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. Please review!! The button is right there. I would not like to say this but if I don't get a certain amount of reviews this time, I'm afraid no more chapters will be uploaded... :(


	8. Chapter 8

**Valkyrie:** Thank you guys for supporting this story. I hope you will enjoy this chapter as much as the other ones. READ AND REVIEW!!

**Disclaimer: I do not own the CCS characters. Only the plot did I create**.

**Complications-Chapter 8**

* * *

"Are you serious, Syaoran Li?" Mei Ling stormed out of Syaoran's walk-in closet into his living room, where he looked laid-back on the gray suede sofa.

"You don't have one damn suit in that humongous closet! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Mei Ling's face was beet red, which complemented her blood red v-neck dress that she will be wearing for the intern conference today. Held in each of her hands were some t-shirts and jeans.

Syaoran glimpsed up from his magazine, unaffected by her mood, and returned back to his magazine. "I'm still in high school, Mei Ling, and my school has uniforms. Why should I own any article of those kind of clothing?"

"Well, if you didn't, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SO YESTERDAY?!" she shot back angrily.

"Because you never said what I would have to wear."

"Obviously at those kind of formal meetings, you should know better not to wear jeans!"

"I apologize for my HUGE mistake. I guess it would ruin our family's reputation if I went in some street clothes. I guess you can go and I'll stay at home," Syaoran pouted.

Mei Ling looked at her watch and sighed in relief. "Thank god I told you the meeting was an hour earlier. Now that we're early for the meeting and you're already up, let's go to the store and buy you a suit."

Syaoran's face shot up in astonishment, "WHAT? So the conference is at 3?" He couldn't believe that Mei Ling had told him the meeting would be at two so that he could get ready an hour before hand.

"Yes, Aunty Yelan knew you will pull off every trick to make it to the conference at the last minute, so she told me to tell you it's supposed to be at two in the afternoon instead of three," Mei Ling confessed casually.

"Now hurry it up. We need to buy you a suit."

As Mei Ling put her black sandals on, Syaoran sat shocked on his sofa.

"Hurry UP! WHY ARE YOU DAY DREAMING?!"

* * *

Syaoran cursed darkly in his mind at Takumi and Ryu for thinking up this ridiculous idea. He did have suits, they were just hidden somewhere because he and his friends knew a suit would be required at the conference.

Now that the plan is ruined, Syaoran could only helplessly follow Mei Ling's orders, for if she knew he had lied to her, she will definitely tell his mother, Yelan Li, the powerful president of the great Li Corporation.

Thinking about all of the future company-related events he would have to attend, his head started to ache. As if a sigh would calm his ache down, he let out a slow one.

"What are you sighing about?" Mei Ling asked, glaring at Syaoran with disgust. Then she turned to the teenage girl who was fixing Syaoran's green tie.

"Doesn't it look nice on him?" Her question to the girl was in a totally different manner, reserved and respectful.

"Y-yes," the girl replied back, never making any eye contact whatsoever with Syaoran or Mei Ling due to her shyness.

Syaoran was V.I.P. at _Jami_, which only sold formal men clothings. Every time he came here, everybody constantly tried to lay their hands on him, even for the slightest bit, like he was some kind of intriguing moving statue of a Greek God. The aura around Syaoran and Mei Ling was so royal that nobody dared to make eye contacts with any of them, directly.

That was an exageration, but seriously, she was blushing furiously because Syaoran was just so hot, with his muscular features and a toxicating scent that made her want to embrace him tightly.

"Thank you," Syaoran said, smiling at the girl who backed herself away from him slowly with her head bowed low, after she fixed his outfit.

"Awesome. Now, let's go. It's almost time," said Mei Ling as she got up from her seat and headed out the double glass doors while four ladies bowed their heads respectably.

Syaoran closely followed behind.

* * *

Finally, finally could Syaoran Li take a breath of relieve after two break-free hours of sitting and listening to boring intern presentations in the collossal conference room.

Once the lights were switched on, he abruptly got up to stretch. His body became too rigid that the stretching sound came out a bit louder than necessary.

He looked down, to meet the deathly glare of Mei Ling when he felt something painfully hard hit against his foot.

"Stop it!" warned Mei Ling in a low voice that only he could hear. The words came out of her mouth without any movement involved, but the threat in those words were impossible to go unnoticed.

Syaoran gave a confused look in return. He did not know what had he done wrong to get this warning. Throughout the whole conference, he acted like a good boy, keeping the respected reputation that his family carried for many generations.

Mei Ling frowned and glimpsed at the 20-something people who were also in the room and then returned back to meet Syaoran's eyes.

Now, Syaoran got it.

He was being discourteous to the people around him, being the first one to stretch loudly before showing his gratitude towards the presenters.

He took a brief moment to close his eyes and compose his well-trained acting. From the day he turned 4, he was trained everyday to always show a smile in front of people no matter how he really felt. This was the number one rule to become a successful business person, always showing the positive side.

With an appreciative smile, he started to applaud, silencing small chatters between the people. "Excellent presentation!"

"Very well done!" Smile ran across the faces of the interns as Syaoran and Mei Ling made their way towards the podium.

"We are very glad to have you on our team," said Syaoran, trying to make eye contact with everybody in the room.

* * *

The moment Syaoran stepped out of the room, he was called to see Taka Kissu, the temporary CEO of the Japanese Corporation Division.

Taka, a 50-something man, was a close friend of the Li's. He was in fact, one of Syaoran's father's good friends. Taka was put to be in charge of this huge division of business because he was capable and loyal to Syaoran's family.

His devotion towards this job has been for 22 successful years. Taka was just like Syaoran's non-blood-related uncle, who had basically watched Syaoran grow up in the last 17 years. Taka was also Syaoran's guardian in Japan. He and Syaoran shared a very special connection.

Syaoran sat on the brown leather sofa that was set against the wall. A few minutes ago, Taka's secretary had greeted him and told him to wait for a few minutes for Taka because he was in a meeting. So, Syaoran offered his keys to Mei Ling so she could wait in his car.

"Hello, Li-san," a handsome tall man with glasses greeted Syaoran, politely. Syaoran looked up from his magazine.

"Hello," said Syaoran, trying to remember this new intern's name.

"I'm Ken Kwon," smiled the man.

"Oh yes, Kwon-san. You can call me Syaoran." Syaoran shook hands with Ken as Ken sat down on the sofa across from him.

"I will only if you call me Ken."

"Ken," repeated Syaoran, still smiling his perfect smile. Syaoran's feature in comparison to Ken's was very boyish. Syaoran wandered how old this seemingly mature man was.

"Great presentation back there. Excellent job!"

"Thank you Syaoran."

"So, I read your profile. You attend the University of Tokyo?"

Ken nodded slightly. "Yes. I'm a second year student at U.T. I'm on a four month break currently, so I decided to come back to visit my family and friends in Tomoeda while working at Li Corps as a part-time job."

Syaoran could only nod. He had heard people whispering things about Ken Kwon during his presentation. It was obvious that he was a very intelligent and hard working man.

"Do you go to Tomoeda High, Syaoran?" Ken asked gently.

"Yes I do."

"Wow, that's cool. I have many younger friends who attend there as well as my younger sister. You might even know her."

"What's her name?" asked Syaoran, half-heartedly.

As soon as the question came out, Ken's phone started ringing. He checked the screen for the caller's Id and then his entire expression changed. A huge smile spread across his face.

Just as he was going to excuse himself from the conversation, Taka's office door swung open. "Syaoran, my boy, come on in. Sorry for the wait!" roared Taka in an upbeat tone. His eyes moved towards Ken, who was getting up from his seat. Then, Taka gave a small wave and a nod to Ken as he returned the gesture.

Before the double doors closed behind Syaoran and Taka, Ken had already picked up the call and started talking.

"Hey Touya...!"

* * *

Ken's mind had been wandering off for some time now, ever since he picked up Touya Kinomoto's call. The Kinomotos and Kwons were good family friends. Their houses were only a few blocks away from each other.

Ever since Ken was still small, he often visited the Kinomotos' home to play with his favourite brother, Touya. Obviously, they weren't related, but they shared a very close friendship. Touya was 2 years older than Ken, but they got along just fine because Ken was premature. Along with Sakura sometimes, the three of them would often explore their neighbourhood.

Ken had always treated Sakura more than just a little sister. Sakura had felt the same way as well so in grade 9, Ken had finally asked her to be his girlfriend.

Their short relationship was very blessed. Their childhood experiences supported their relationship whenever troubles appeared. They were just like a married couple, though a younger version.

Everybody was happy for the young, young couple, even Touya, who was extremely protective of his little sister because he knew how much Ken Kwon loved Sakura.

However, this relationship ended when Ken decided to attend the University of Tokyo. Sakura and Ken had to sadly end their loving relationship.

It was sad, indeed, to split up but both were happy about each other's caringness. Even though they broke up, that didn't mean their bond did. Their connection afterwards was so strong that even Touya had no complain about it.

* * *

**Flashback**-**Telephone** **conversation**

_"Hey Touya!" exclaimed Ken excitedly. It was nice to hear from his brother/friend, finally._

_"Hey. I heard you came back yesterday. It's been a while since we had a party. So, why don't you come tonight to my house for a welcome-back party?" Touya said._

_"Um...I'm sorry, but I still have work today. How about some other day?" replied Ken sadly._

_"Working already?" Touya questioned in disbelief. "You just came back_ yesterday!"

_"Well...I wanted to get started as soon as possible." Ken sweat-dropped_.

_"Man, you haven't changed a bit, have you?"_

_"Nopers! I'm really sorry but I have a lot of work to do," apologized Ken_.

_"Hey! Don't let them boss you around on the first day of work, you got that?" Touya warned. Ken smiled to himself as he nodded_.

"_Yes, Touya. And..." Before Ken could finish his sentence, Touya had already butt in for the answer_.

_"No, Sakura does not know that you're back. She has no idea about your return, although I don't know if your sister has mentioned it in school and she's not telling me_."

_"Thanks Touya. I will tell her myself tomorrow. Sorry again about the party eh?"_

_"Whatever. That does not mean the party's never happening, though. It's just post-poned until some other time..."_

**End of Flashback**

* * *

**Valkyrie85: I really do appreciate your reviews. Thank you all for your support. Here is the next chapter. I'm very sorry for the long delay.**

Anyways, I know this is SUPER random but RIP MICHAEL JACKSON! I still can't believe that he has left us...his death shouldn't have happened! For those who do love our King of Pop, please prey for his sufferings to end. He had suffered so much during his childhood and adulthood that he should at the very least deserve happiness in the afterlife. LONG LIVE THE KING! Sleep well, my King. Shall your slumber be eternal peace.

For those who don't know Michael Jackson or don't like him, here are some of his songs that I strongly recommend you to listen before you make your final judgement on him:

1. Heal the World 2. Billie Jean 3. Thriller 4. The Way You Make Me Feel 5. Childhood


	9. Chapter 9

V**alkyrie85:** Here it is, everyone, the ninth chapter of "Complications". I can't believe that I 've gotten so far in the story. It's time to tell myself to 'keep up the good work' now!"q

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, only the new characters who didn't appear in the anime and the new plot that I've created.

**Please do not be offended by any of the content mentioned below**

**Complications-Chapter 9**

* * *

"How could someone wearing a pair of glasses look so dreeeeeammy?" a girl asked her friend as Sakura walked past their lockers.

"Who, Syaoran Li?" asked her friend.

"He doesn't even wear glasses. No, it's this really good-looking guy who has been waiting against our front gate since half an hour ago."

"Oh? Well what..."

Sakura was certainly not the type of person interested in other people's gossip, but because she WAS heading towards the front gate of Tomoeda High, which the girls were talking about, why not test out her luck? She wasn't surprised to find four to five Tomoeda High female students gathering around the man with the glasses. From where Sakura stood, only the man's tall height, black hair, and the glasses could be distinguished from the rest of his features.

"Hey, sir. Do you come to the school?" asked a girl, her voice seductive.

"No, I don't. I am in University right now," answered the man in a friendly voice. His voice had a familiar rough edge to it that had caught Sakura's ears.

"Oh? That's soooooooo cool! What are you majoring in?" asked another.

"Business and Technology." This answer, once again, had caught Sakura's ears. She became hesitant to move any steps forward and stopped to take a look at this man who was so very similar like "him."

Once she turned around, the man's dark orbs met her emerald ones, like a special bond that always knew where the other one was. There was familiarity in those framed eyes, Sakura thought. Her eyes traveled down to the man's tall nose, then thin lips, and finally, zoomed out to his entire face, while the man just kept on staring at her interestedly.

Their intimate eye contact ended when one of the girls beside him moved her hand up and down in front of his eyes, trying to claim his attention.

"S-sorry. The person I've been waiting for is here," stuttered the man.

He walked towards Sakura without paying much attention to the girls' disappointment and opened up his arms with a big smile on his face.

"KEN!"

Sakura's face lightened from curiosity to obvious excitement. She couldn't contain herself anymore. She didn't care that she was in this huge public open area where hundreds of people could be watching.

Her excitement brought energy to her legs and made her run into Ken's arms.

His arms felt firm around her waist while he spun her around like a little girl. The giggles that Sakura had remembered of Ken was certainly the same as ever.

"When did you come back?" Sakura asked shortly after she regained her breath from all that spinning.

"Just the day before," replied Ken.

"TWO DAYS BACK AND NOW YOU'RE VISITING ME?!" Sakura humorously raised her voice. Sakura was glad that there was no awkwardness between her and Ken. Although after almost 2 years of separation, she needed some time to adjust to his more matured looks.

"Yuppers. I'm sorry that I didn't visit you soon but I had work."

"Really? You're working already?" Sakura asked, shaking her head slowly. "Man...you haven't changed a bit."

"Like brother, like sister. You and Touya say the exact same thing."

"Wait! Touya knew you came back?" Geez. Sakura hated to be left out on things.

Ken gave a nervous smile, "Long story..."

* * *

"What was all that commotion-"

"About the 'guy with the glasses'?" Ryu cut in to answer the question.

"Yes." Syaoran smirked at his own curiosity of that man every girl was talking about non-stop in the hallways.

"Apparently it's this guy who looks really dreamy with a pair of glasses. He's also got fine abs and dark, dark black hair."

"Oooooooooo...Syaoran, you've got competition!" Takumi teased, cutting 'competition' into syllables.

"Does he come to the school?" asked Syaoran.

For some unknown reason, he felt a restless uneasiness surfacing. Did he consider this new man as a threat to his popularity amongst the girls? No, that wasn't it. Then, what was possibly there in that man that made Syaoran so uncomfortable...it was almost like fear.

"He doesn't. He was just waiting for someone who comes to our school."

Ryu and Takumi were both exceptional gossipers. Their abilities to discover gossip and rumor was equivalent to the same abilities that many Tomoeda High girls possessed.

"Who was the lucky girlfriend who caught his attention, then?" asked Syaoran.

"You're awfully interested in knowing about this new- "

"Who?"

"Sakura Kinomoto, your ex-lover," Takumi and Ryu both replied in sync.

Bingo! The nerve spot got hit...got hit HARD.

_"It's so strange that this plain Kinomoto has got connections with a lot of good-looking guys."_

Anything that was related to Sakura Kinomoto, Syaoran's nervous system became irresistably sentitive.

_"She's got lots of history behind her life..."_

The person who the man was waiting for was the key reason why Syaoran had felt uneasy.

_"I wonder what's the relationship between the two."_

As to why Sakura was always the reason to most of his dramatic reactions, he didn't know.

"Don't you 'desperately' want to know the relationship between Sakura and that mysterious man?" Takumi provoked.

"No, I'm not interested in gossip," replied Syaoran sternly.

"You were just so a minute ago!"

"I was not."

"Yes you were."

"Not."

"YES!" Takumi and Ryu said in sync once again.

"So," Syaoran started again in a calmer voice, "Mei Ling's here. She wanted to invite you guys to dinner sometime because she hasn't seen you two for so long." Syaoran tried firing a new topic.

"Oh, cool. Just tell us when and where and we'll be there for sure," Ryu said.

Successfully, the new topic had moved their focus out of the Sakura Matter. Syaoran was glad to have it out of his mind for a while before he became the wearisome person he would always become whenever something related to Sakura appeared.

* * *

"Hm...this is soooooooo good!" Sakura cried out in joy as the roll of sushi she was just chewing a minute ago slid down her throat.

"I know!" Ken agreed, picking up the last sushi on his tray with his chopsticks and dipped it into soy sauce. "The taste that this store has is so unique, unlike the sushi stores in Tokyo. Ichibo Sushi has a taste of 'home.'" Ken swallowed it quickly.

"Bill please!" Sakura called out to the waitress walking by.

"No, Sakura. Let me pay for it."

"That's okay. Just count this as a 'welcome-back' present from me," Sakura suggested, taking out her wallet.

Taking the bill quickly from Sakura's hand, placed some money and gave it back to the waitress quickly, Ken smiled. "Please let me pay this time. Remember the promise we made before? I will first buy you something once I get paid for my job?"

Sakura raised her eyebrow, but then sighed defeatedly. "Fine."

* * *

"How's life in Tokyo for you for the past 2 years?" Sakura asked, kicking her feet into the pile of sand beneath her.

"It's okay-ish. Not as fun as Tomoeda, though. Lots of work to do everyday. There's never really a time when I didn't have to review my notes or study for upcoming exams." Ken replied nonchalantly.

"Oh. Where do you live in Tokyo? On or off school campus?"

"On. My friend and I rented the room together. It's pretty big, the size that's slightly bigger than your room."

Ken twisted the chains of his swing until it was so tight that it started untwisting the moment he stopped supporting it.

"Wa---" this is making me dizzy.

Sakura stared at him like he was a total idiot. "Did you know they had to change these swings right after they found out that you went to Tokyo and won't possibly be back in three years?"

Penguin Park used to be Sakura and Ken's favourite hangout place of all times. It was a park filled with love, joy, and cheerful memories that had brought the two of them closer than ever when they still went out.

"Oh? Did they?" Ken smiled good-naturedly. "So that they could let me enjoy the new swings? Well, how considerate!"

"Noooooo...they changed it because after more than one million times of your twistings on the swing, they were scared that other kids might get injured!"

"Sure, Sakura. That would be the last thing this small town would do. Why would they use the money to change such small things like swings than on bigger things like pot holes?" Ken smirked and waved his hand in dismissal.

"Yeah? Since when do you see pot holes on the streets?" Sakura challenged.

"Since yesterday when I tried to hail a cab and got splashed all over by a pot hole of water!"

"That's ridiculous. As a University of Tokyo student, shouldn't your knowledge be greater than this? That was a puddle, in fact."

Ken was about to counter-attack but stopped short when Sakura started swinging herself on the swing.

"Wow, my dear Sakura! You've finally mastered the skill of swinging all on your own!" Ken praised jokingly. Sakura glared darkly at him and the playfulness in his dark eyes.

"But seriously--" Ken's expression turned into sincere admiration, "Who's the more-professional teacher who taught you how to swing after all of those unsuccessful years I had tried to teach you?"

Sakura shook her head slowly, stopped her swinging and reburied her feet beneath the sand. Her eyes were fixed upon her feet which were kicking the sand again.

"It's nothing." She got up and shook the sand off of her feet even though she knew it was useless because she had to walk some more to get out of the sand pit.

"It's getting late. I should go home now or else Touya will cause a big commotion. Or, if he knows that I was with you all of this time without him knowing, he will definitely chop your head off into millions of pieces and then feed them to the dogs." She felt a cold chill run down her back.

"Alright. I guess I wouldn't want my teachers and classmates in Tokyo to go through all the useless trouble to search for my whereabout, right?" Ken gave a childish grin.

"Let's go, I'll take you home before Touya explodes."

* * *

"You will be attending Tomoeda High, is it, Mei Ling?" Ryu asked, taking a sip of his lemon water.

"Yeah but I will like to hide my identity as Syaoran's cousin as well as your friend." Mei Ling replied dryly.

"Why though?" Takumi rudely butt in.

"There is absolutely no reason at all for hiding my connection to Syaoran and the two of you other than the fact that I want a peaceful high school life like the other high school girls." Mei Ling smirked.

Takumi smiled nervously. "It seems you've searched quite a bit on our school life, huh?"

"A lot, I must say. Three hot-looking guys like you guys cause huge commotions in school. That's nothing of a surprise to me but," said Mei Ling, tucking a strand of her long her behind her ear, "I am surprised as to why Syaoran has been so quiet and solemn these two days. Did anything unusual happen at school?" Mei Ling glanced over at the Syaoran Li sitting beside her who was paying zero attention to their conversation and was just staring down at his hands.

"Oh, Syaoran is having painful heartaches!" cried Takumi teasingly. Mei Ling raised her eyebrow in suspicion.

"Sakura Kinomoto--"

"OWWWWWWW!" Takumi jumped up from his chair after his foot got stomped, causing the other people in the restaurant to turn around.

Syaoran set his eyes upon Takumi's like a hawk scrutinuzing after its pray. The threat in those fiery amber eyes were deadly cold that sent chills down Takumi's spine. Wasn't he paying no attention to their conversation? Seemingly so...

"E-Ecuse me for a moment. I need to use the restroom." Takumi hurried off in limps towards the washroom.

"What's with him?" Syaoran asked innocently. Ryu shrugged, having no idea what had just happened while Mei Ling's eyes narrowed. There was something going on around here that she had no knowledge of and she knew it was something important, and the Sakura Kinomoto...

"Excuse me for a moment as well. I need to use the washroom." Mei Ling walked slowly towards the restroom area.

* * *

**Valkyrie85: That's it for now folks! Enjoyed the chapter? I enjoyed it very much LOL. Anyways!!! PLEASE REVIEW! I was quite happy that lots of people added this story to their Story Alert List for the last chapter! But! It would be better if you could click on the inconspicuous button down there and review! Until next time, folks!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Valkyrie85**: WOW! It's the tenth chapter now! Before I deleted my other stories, the most chapters I had written for a story was ten too! I wonder if I could finish this story successfully this time...I think the story was called "We're Meant To Be" or something. I don't remember the title but sorry to those who had read the story but didn't get to know the ending. Also, to those who read my other stories...sorry as well.

Please do not hesitate to ask me questions about the story. Or, if you would like to suggest an idea, PLEASE DO SO AS WELL! I need lots of corrections and suggestions to make this story a good one! Other than that, if you have the spare time please do review!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CCS. Only the new plot and the new characters in the story who didn't appear in the anime do I own.

**Complications-Chapter 10**

* * *

"Here is your schedule, Li-san." The middle-aged female secretary handed Mei Ling a single sheet of her schedule.

"And, here are the other school supplements, like school maps and school event calendars." Another pile in a folder was handed to Mei Ling.

"Thank you very much." Mei Ling said with a smile.

"You're welcome, dear. You are very polite. I don't know what is wrong but kids these days don't know their manners. However, don't worry about it, Tomoeda High is a very safe school. Students here don't bully new kids, especially ones like you who transferd at this time of the year."

The plumpy lady showed some of the directions as she led Mei Ling to her designated classroom.

"Because we do know it's a late start, a very late one at this time of the year, we have organized your schedule to the same one as another student's. She is an excellent student leader at our school, so that you could learn your way around and catch up on the events that you had missed, quickly."

"Thank you once again. May I ask who might this excellent student be?"

"Oh yes, her name is Sakura Kinomoto. She is a very polite and kind girl like you. I'm sure she will make you feel comfortable at this school, just like how you felt when you were in your Hong Kong school," the lady explained. "And finally, here we are, your biology class."

The woman tip-toed up against the closed door to peek into the classroom.

"You have Misaki sensei." When the woman was back to her normal height, she turned to look at Mei Ling.

"By the way, are you in any way related to Syaoran Li?"

This was a question that took Mei Ling by surprise, disgusted surprise. Not only were the students at Tomoeda High fond of Syaoran, the teachers were, too, interested about his personal life.

Did they possibly think that they had a chance to date Syaoran, who was more or less 5 years younger than them? And not to mention that he was their student as well!

Just like Syaoran, showing her real emotion was something that she can control. Her disgusted look was hidden just as fast as it had poured across her facade.

"No, miss. I am not, though, I know it's weird that both of us came from Hong kong and share the same last name. Or, is the information about that Syaoran Li I had just mentioned incorrect because that's what I had heard from a few people now?" Mei Ling said.

"I'm sorry," the secretary made it out almost in a whisper, something Mei Ling guessed was embarrassment, "has a lot of people asked you that?"

"Only a bit, there's nothing to apologize for," Mei Ling shook her hands rapidly to dismiss the woman's thought.

The secretary's voice returned back to normal.

"Oh, I see. Now, go into the clas before you miss out on too much."

Waving her hand in goodbye, the secretary swung her hair back and left.

When Mei Ling comfirmed that the secretary was out of sight, she let out a deep sigh. Man, it was just too risky to even tell the teachers who she was, although the principal was an exception. Who knew what the Syaoran fans will do to her if they found out she was his cousin? Maybe bombarding her with love letters and presents to give to Syaoran? Just having the slightest thoughts gave Mei Ling chills.

Before she did what she was told not to do, missing too much class, she fixed her image, took a deep breath, and walked into the classroom.

"Good morning, I'm the new transfer student from Hong Kong," Mei Ling said with a casual smile to the teacher. Just the moment she showed her appearance, the class that was experimenting with something stopped their doings and looked up.

"Hello, good morning!" cried the teacher excitedly. "I am your biology teacher, Misaki. What is your name?" The teacher approached her with a chalk in hand.

"I'm Mei Ling Li." She shook the teacher's hand. As if on cue, once the last name was mentioned, the other students started whispering random things to each other.

"_She's a Li, too? Is she related to Syaoran?"_

"_Does Syaoran know that she's here?_"

_"Cool, let me befriend her to get closer to Syaoran Li_."

"I'm sorry. They're just so excited to have a new student, a new TRANSFERED student from another country, in their class. I assume the secretary has already explained your schedule and who will be taking you around?"

"Yes. I think it's Sakura Kinomoto, is it?"

"Very well indeed. Sakura?" Misaki sensei turned to the students, searching for Sakura.

"Here!" Sakura approached them with a big smile on her face.

"It was decided that you will be showing Mei Ling around the school. Her schedule was organized to be like yours so that you could assist her."

"Okay."

"Now, Mei Ling, please follow Sakura to the seat next to her. I hope you will just sit and watch for this lesson and get to know everyone. Is that okay?" Misaki sensei asked.

"Definitely." Mei Ling followed Sakura's footsteps to the back of the room, while on the way, listening quietly to the students' whispers.

"_She's pretty. Her piercing eyes look like Syaoran's_!"

"_Ask her! Ask her! Ask if she's related to Syaoran Li_!"

Mei Ling sighed inwardly. God, she was lucky to have registered as somebody with no blood-relations to Syaoran.

"Everybody, this is Mei Ling Li. She is from Hong Kong!" Sakura started the introduction.

"Hey Mei Ling!" Everybody greeted with a big smile.

"Hello, everyone!" Mei Ling greeted back. There was no need to be cold to them like she was to Syaoran, she thought.

"Come, Mei Ling!" Sakura grabbed Mei Ling's hand gently. "I'll show you around."

For the rest of the morning, Sakura showed Mei Ling around the school during the short class transitions. Also, she got aquainted with lots of new people. In general, her morning was pretty normal, except when people started questioning about her relationship with Syaoran. She promised herself to have Syaoran pay her back for all of these nuissance...for sure, when she go back home.

Her guide, Sakura Kinomoto, was an interesting person. Her popularity around the school was over-whelming, more or less equivalent to Syaoran's, although her friendship had a span over the two sex. Unlike her, Syaoran's was mainly around the girls, or maybe some guys if they were interested in same-sex relationships. Overall, most guys regarded him as a love rival. Mei Ling was sure of it.

Sakura was a very out-going person, something that Mei Ling shared in common. Her personality was welcoming that made everybody, even Mei Ling, want to be her friend. Her generosity, caringness, and kindness was just as prominent as her good-natured personality.

In other words, she could be the most perfect person on Earth, but there was one thing that Mei Ling was not fond of: her shyness to reject and to pursue the things she wanted. Her lack of competitiveness was dangerously low to survive in this surreal world of betrayals and deceits.

This weakness was something that Mei Ling worried about.

In the mere hours of their aquaintance, Mei Ling and Sakura became friends. Along the way, Mei Ling had met some of her other friends, Tomoyo, Jun, Chichiru, and Hikaru. They were all nice people who Mei Ling liked to be around with, especially Tomoyo, who she found extremely compatable with.

There was something in Tomoyo, though, that made her more careful in hiding her identity. As if she had an ability to know the truth in everything...I have to be more cautious when I'm around her, Mei Ling thought.

* * *

"Have you ever tried Japanese ramen, Mei Ling?" Sakura asked, more to herself.

"I--"

"Oh, never mind. Of course you have. You've been to Japan before right?" Sakura concluded, with disappointment. She wanted to share the good food in Japan that her new friend had not tried before, but it seemed unneccessary for Mei Ling had been to Japan before.

"Yes," Mei Ling replied with a smile, "but I've never tried the ones at this school. Mind if you join me this lunch time eating ramen together?" She didn't want to disappoint Sakura. It was a sight she didn't wish to see.

"YES!" Sakura jumped up in excitement. Grabbing her hand more carelessly, she led Mei Ling to the ramen stand in the cafeteria.

"What's good here?" Mei Ling asked.

"Do you like teriyaki beef?"

"Yeah..."

"Okay, two Teriyaki Beef ramen, please!" called Sakura to the woman behind the cash register.

"On the way!"

"Doesn't Tomoyo like ramen?" Mei Ling asked, staring at the table where Tomoyo and Sakura's other friends sat, recogizing some new people who she didn't meet this morning.

"Nope, she likes western food more. Thank you!" Sakura handed Mei Ling her bowl of steamy noodle on a tray while she took her own.

"Oh, I see."

On the way back to their table, an uproar of voices occured. Mei Ling's head turned around curiously to search for the reason of this uproar.

"Oh god, they never shut up, do they?" Mike groaned in annoyance. Mei Ling's eyebrow raised at his pleading.

"Mei Ling, just so you know, every lunch time, there is always 10 to 15 minutes of excitement in this cafeteria because Syaoran Li, their out-spoken crush, always makes such a grand entrance," Tomoyo explained.

"Oh?" Mei Ling rolled her eyes, careful not to show it to her new friends. She should have known better. Syaoran Li was an attention-hogger even when he was still in Hong Kong, attending elementary school.

"_SYAORAN!!! I'M HERE! YOUR LOVER_!"

"_CAN YOU SIGN MY BREASTS!?"_

"_MARRY ME! Syaoran LI!"_

Syaoran strolled in with his new girlfriend and three best friends, Takumi, Ryu and Eriol, who had recently ditched all of their group events, including the dinner night Mei Ling had invited him to, for his girlfriend of two years, Tomoyo Daidouji.

This time, it was a girl with blond locks. Obviously, her hair colour was dyed because nobody in Japan had natural blond hair, unless that person was a mix. The short uniform skirt she was wearing was pulled so high up, that her pink lacy underwear was visible. The way she walked inside Syaoran's embrace was disgusting. Her butt swayed right and left as she walked like a horse. That was exactly what she was--a horse--a whore. Her name was Erisa, the perfect name for an ultimate bitch.

"So, THAT'S SYAORAN LI!" Mei Ling exclaimed in anger. "He's the person who everybody thought I was related to! How could I share the same blood as that kind of playboy!" At least that's what she wished.

"Yeah, it seems like you've already grown hatred for him?" Mike grinned devilishly, "Welcome to the club." He offered his hand for a hand shake with Mei Ling. She, in return, hesitantly shook his.

"I'm Mike Tendou, by the way. Are you the new transfer student from Hong Kong?" Mike shifted closer to Sakura in order to make some room for Mei Ling.

"Yes. I'm Mei Ling, nice to meet you Mike," smiled Mei Ling, turning her head to the new friends she didn't meet in the morning to greet them.

Mei Ling could not care much about Syaoran, who was sitting just two tables away from her group, but she couldn't help but return his stares which she felt constantly during the whole lunch period.

Tomoeda High had lots of great people. Mei Ling was looking forward to her stay at this new school.

* * *

**Valkyrie85: AWESOME! Here's another chapter done! I hope you liked this whole chapter of Mei Ling's Day thing. I'm sorry that nothing important happened in this chapter, but soon, very soon, something will happen...let's just keep on waiting....HAHAHA!!**

**Anyways! PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Valkyrie85**: Sorry for the long wait. Here is the chapter. Please enjoy and THEN REVIEW!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CCS. Only the new characters and plot did I create.

**Complications-Chapter 11**

* * *

"Where are you planning to go with that big bag of stuff, Mei Ling?" Syaoran asked, accusingly, leaning against Mei Ling's door frame.

"I'm going to stay over at Tomoyo's house, tonight," Mei Ling explained, continuing her brisk packing. She rushed out of her bedroom, pushing Syaoran out of her way.

"And did you, by any chance, plan to tell me about this event?" He turned to the busy Mei Ling who was collecting random bottles of toileteries into her arms in the bathroom.

"What am I doing right now, then?" she asked impatiently. "Now, get out of my way, Syaoran!" She pushed Syaoran aside and stuffed the bottles into her traveling bag.

"Why are you in a hurry?"

"Because she's sending a car to pick me up at 6:00." With a final zip, she swung the bag over her shoulder. Syaoran checked his watch. It was only 5:30 as he rolled his eyes. "You're half an hour early, Mei Ling."

"Well, have you forgotten that THEY don't know I'm your cousin?" Mei Ling returned the gesture.

"They?" Syaoran asked curiously. "Who else is going to Daidouji's house?"

"SAKURA, Tomoyo and I are spending the night at Tomoyo's house, alright? Argg." Mei Ling groaned in annoyance. Sometimes, Syaoran just asked too many questions that made her wonder if he did that on purpose just to annoy her.

"Sakura?" Syaoran whispered lowly, hardly unintelligible to Mei Ling's sharp ears. She shot a secret glance at his direction because of his sudden change of expression.

"That Daidouji," Syaoran continued thoughtfully in a different manner, "likes to make things so conspicuous. She is quite an attention hogger, don't you think? She constantly tries to show everybody how rich she is, it's as if-- OWW!"

As soon as the words came out, Syaoran received a hard knee-in-the-ribs from Mei Ling.

"That's what you get for talking about my friend, Syaoran!" Mei Ling yelled angrily, a combined after affect from his irritating questioning and rude comments.

"Why?! That is the truth though!" He struggled to rise from the floor, not one bit regretful for what he said.

"Well, talk about someone else AFTER fixing your own problem, Syaoran!"

Syaoran gave a confused look.

"Remember what I asked you to fix? You and your friends might not realize this, but there are more people than you think in the school who don't appreciate your huge attention commotions everyday. EVERYDAY! Damn it! Is it so hard for you NOT to act so special? Is it simply that hard to--"

"But, I didn't choose--"

"NO! Don't give me 'buts' because you know, deep down, that you want all this attention to satisfy your cravings for attention. So there's no need to lie to me or to yourself." With a final glare at Syaoran, Mei ling bent to tie her shoelaces.

"Before you talk about others, think about who you're addressing your rude comments to. The person, no Tomoyo, is MY friend and ERIOL'S girlfriend."

"She--" Syaoran knew it was totally useless to interrupt because Mei Ling never "pause" her anger in the middle of something which she thought was right. And trust him, she was ALWAYS right.

"Okay, END OF CONVERSATION! I don't want to talk to you until I get back from Tomoyo's house. So if you ever dare to CALL ME, Syaoran Li, you will not see the sun rise tomorrow!" Mei Ling threatened dangerously, sending chills down Syaoran's neck. The finger she was pointing at him dropped the instant she finished her scolding.

"Man, I wasted so much time on this idiot!" She groaned, looking at her watch, and rushed out the door, leaving a wordless Syaoran behind.

* * *

"My turn. My turn!" Sakura called out excitedly. She, Tomoyo and Mei Ling were currently in Tomoyo's humongous bedroom, each seated in a comfy couch, playing truth or dare. So far, only Mei Ling, the riskiest person out of them all, chose to do a dare, a dare given by Tomoyo.

She was dared to lick the walls in Tomoyo's bedroom, not a too risky dare in her opinion.

"Tomoyo, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Alright. Do you LOVE Eriol?" Sakura asked the most obvious question.

"Of course..." she blushed furiously, satisfying Mei Ling and Sakura's evilness.

"Now my turn," Mei Ling said. Her face became thoughtful.

"Sakura. Truth or dare?"

"Um...truth?" Sakura asked. Mei Ling rolled her eyes but knew anyways that Sakura would most likely choose truth.

"Tell me, Sakura. Tell me things about you that I, as a two-week friend, don't know about." Mei Ling smirked.

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. "In which field?"

"How about, in the romantic field, like who did you date and so on." Mei Ling curled up her legs on the sofa, listening quietly to her confessions. She glimpsed at Tomoyo, whose face was buried in a mixture of wary and anxiety.

"I-I'm sorry, Mei Ling," Sakura apologized in a small voice. Uh-oh the request got rejected?

"I'm sorry for not telling you my past even though you're one of my closest friends now," she continued with a tiny smile on her face.

"I grew up with this boy who lived in my neighbourhood. He is 3 years my senior and came over to hang out with my brother, Touya, when we were little. His name is Ken Kwon." She smiled inwardly to herself.

The familiar name reminded Mei Ling of a memory which she could not remember, but for sure the name was very, very familiar. Gosh, she hated when things like that happened. Her attention was respectfully brought back to Sakura's story.

"...We started dating after a few years-- when I was in grade nine. It was probably one of the most happiest experiences in my life. Then, he decided to enroll in the University of Tokyo because you know, he was a really smart dude. So we decidedly chose to end our relationship, considering that it will be a long-distance relationship and a hold-back to his future. BUT!" Sakura emphasised the last word, sticking out her arms in front of her, to stop both Mei Ling and Tomoyo's approach towards her couch.

"I was happy about the decision. We both were actually, because our relationship became closer than ever, even though he was always so busy with his school work and NEVER, EVER had time to call me or email me for the past one and a half year." Sakura smiled at Tomoyo then Mei Ling, whose worried faces were replaced by casualty.

"Past one and a half year? So, he's finally got time to call you now?" Sakura couldn't tell if the edginess to Mei Ling's question was due to her anger for what Ken had done or just simply, curiousity towards her love story.

"No, no," Tomoyo cut in, "he's back in Tomoeda for this year's 4-month break."

"So, he's in Tomoeda at the moment?"

"Yes," Sakura replied. "Anyways, on with my story. I have to apologize one more time for my negligence in not telling you about my past, Mei Ling! But please don't get mad at me, for this second relationship was unmistakenly the WORST nightmare that could ever happen. It was not meant to happen. I didn't want to talk about it at first, however, I thought it would be unfair that only you are clueless about my history." There was pungent bitterness in Sakura's words. God forbid anybody rudely interrupting her sudden solemn confession.

"The second relationship was with Syaoran Li--"

"OH MY GOSH! SYAORAN LI!?" Mei Ling's eyes widened in disbelief. Sakura shook her head with a grave grimace. Mei Ling had 'rudely interrupted' her.

"Yeah, but that was, as I have mentioned, the biggest mistake I've ever done in my whole entire life." Although Mei Ling's astonishment had abated, the shock within her was still restless seeing Sakura's painful reaction.

"Shortly after the beginning of grade 10..."

**Flashback-Grade 10**

_OOOf_!

_"I-I'm really sorry!" the beautiful Sakura exclaimed, bowing her head continuously to the person she had carelessly bumped into. She quickly bent down to the floor to collect hers and the person's books._

_"That's okay," said the person softly. "There's no need to apologize for something of my fault." His voice was low, soft and polite. Sakura gathered the person's textbooks, the ones which she remembered not bringing: Chemistry and Japanese. Then, she stumbled on the two duplicated copies of Math textbooks. Which one was hers? The one that looked older? Yeah that was it!_

_Gathering her own, Math and Biology, and the other person's, she arose from the floor, unbalanced, due to the weight of the textbooks. Before she dropped the textbooks again onto the marble floor, the person wrapped his arms around her waist to support her from falling. From what Sakura can tell, the person had a well-toned chest, covered by their school's fine uniform and had an attractive, intoxicating smell coming from every part of his body._

_"Are you alright?" The person whispered into her ears._

_"Y-Yes, t-thank you," Sakura replied, looking up at the person who was much taller than her. Suddenly, she felt the hard pounding of her heart against her rib cage which brought dark shades of red to her beautiful face. Her mouth, unwillingly, dropped open while she stared at the handsome, famous Syaoran Li smiling back at her warmly._

_"Here are your books." Sakura walked out of his embrace and handed him his textbooks. Without another word, Sakura walked off towards her class nervously_.

_Thank God the hall they were in was already cleared_.

"_Thank you!" Syaoran called out to Sakura_.

**End of Flashback**

"When it was lunch, Syaoran came to our table to exchange the math textbooks we had mixed up. In return, he told me to sit at his table, so he could thank and apologize for the incident." Sakura recalled the memory. Her eyes were closed to help her focus on telling the story.

"It was obvious that he had wanted to ask me out, but as you know, I was still in the middle of my break-up aftermath. After days of just him and me befriending each other, something that I fearfully but honestly want to admit happened. We slowly moved our lunch hours into the cafeteria V.I.P. room where only students who paid could go in." Taking an unnecessary breath, she continued.

"That day, so awkwardly, I ordered Strawberry Shortcake as my dessert. When it was brought in, there was this silver ring with three cherry blossom pebbles on top of my cake. Along side, in dark chocolate icing, there was 'Will you go out with me?' on the white plate. As much as I hate to admit this, I was awestruck and..."

"You agreed?" Mei Ling could hardly make the words come out of her mouth. There was clear awe in her voice.

"Y-Yeah and on with our relationship." Sakura's eyes started to swell as her words came out between short pauses. Her effort trying to push back the tears from her betraying eyes wasn't successful. Even as she bit her lower lip, her tears were slowly dripping down her face.

"Sakura. If you don't want to talk about it then don't." Tomoyo reached Sakura's side, pulling her into a hug. Mei Ling took the tissue box on the table in front of her sofa and reached Sakura to wipe away her tears.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. Please don't continue if you don't feel like it!" Mei Ling soothed her arm comfortingly.

"No," *sniff* "I'll just finish telling you how it ended."

"I should have known from the beginning that it was just pure lust that made him want to ask me out. I should have known something like that was coming. I should have known to never fall for him but I never knew he was going to betray me in such a way!" Sakura was yelling now.

"He told Lydia all that crap about me so he could claim her sympathy! I knew he was a player, but why couldn't he just say those things to my face?"

"How did you know he said that?" Mei Ling inquired carefully.

"Because I was there, in the washroom stall, when he and Lydia said all those things!" She buried her head in her arms.

"I know that Syaoran Li never, EVER breaks up with anybody like that, telling people how his current girlfriend sucks just to get a new one," Tomoyo forcefully added. "Everybody knows that! He just gives a check to the girl and breaks up. Sakura didn't deserve this cruel treatment."

"And he thought he could lie about this whole betrayal thing even after he'd said all those things about me!" Sakura bursted into a whole new set of tears.

"Why do you say that?"

"He acted like nothing happened even until the mere minutes after I confronted the things I heard!" she took a deep breath. "I guess," her voice started in a calmer voice, "that was all my fault for falling for a playboy. It was all my fault for beliving that I could change him. It was all my fault for being in the washroom stall at the wrong time in the wrong place. It was all my fault for--"

"ENOUGH!" Mei Ling protested. She couldn't stand seeing Sakura so painful anymore so she had to shut her up. "Shhh, Sakura," she soothed. "It's okay. Everything's going to be fine. It wasn't your fault anyways, right?"

"Sakura," Tomoyo added, "it was not your fault for doing all those things. It was HIS fault for breaking your heart, in the first place."

"Yes, Tomoyo's right. He broke your heart so he needs to deserve the utmost punishment. No matter what, if he doesn't know what he's done to you, then you need to let him know through your action. Sakura, there's no need for you to act so normal around that guy. Seeing you act nice around him, I had no idea that you had once gone out with him. YOU NEED TO LET HIM KNOW THAT HE HAD DONE SOMETHING WRONG."

Sakura smiled dryly. "So what if I treated him like poorly? He's not going to learn--"

"No, you listen to me young lady." Mei Ling made Sakura look at her in the eyes. "If he does have the least bit of human consience to figure out wrongs and rights, then he will learn. If you don't do anything, he will never know what he did wrong. He might even think that you still have feelings for him, which you don't...right?" She searched deeply into Sakura's eyes for the answer.

"N-No, definitely. After what he had done to me? NEVER!" Sakura protested.

"O..okay." Mei Ling looked at Sakura awkwardly. Sakura was over-reacting.

Though Sakura was in hysterics just moments ago, she felt good--relieved to be able to confide her feelings to her two best friends-- for finally admitting her feelings she could have never done.

* * *

As the first night alone ever since Mei Ling moved in with Syaoran, he asked Eriol, Takumi, and Ryu to stay over just like what they had done constantly before Mei Ling came. The four of them gathered around in the living room, playing a game they had boringly made up in the past few hours, Truth AND Dare. The instructions for the game: A person is asked to answer a question honestly, and then is asked to perform a dare related to the Truth.

"Alright, and finally, after ALL of those tries, Sakura said she will date me," Syaoran empahsised on the word "all" to exagerate his hardship when trying to ask Sakura out.

"..." His friends kept quiet.

"Any of you listening?" Takumi, Eriol and Ryu responded to his story quietly, almost as if they weren't listening to his 20-something minute response to the "Who was the hardest girl to get out of all of your girlfriends?" question.

"Yeah...just thinking, you know," Takumi shrugged. "It's hard to believe that Syaoran Li had to make such a huge effort to ask a girl out."

"What do you feel about her now?" Eriol talked for the first time since his story ended.

"One question--"

"Don't even try to leave out the question," Ryu pushed. "There's no need to lie anymore, Syaoran. We just want to know the simple truth. Either you still have feelings for her or you don't. Simple."

Syaoran considered Ryu's words. Needless his words, he knew there was no need to lie about what he'd thought about things because he knew they will not spill the secret. However, why was he so hesitant to answer this question? Was it so hard to confess his feelings for Sakura that was over and long gone? Yeah, it was hard because he didn't recognize this awkward feeling. Neither did he have feelings for her, that would be something impossible. He never had any feelings reappearing for girls he broke up with. That was something he knew will not happen. Why is it that whenever it came to Sakura, he felt so frustratingly irritated?

"I..." he finally let out, "honestly don't know if I do or don't." His voice was hesitant from the first try after he organized the words in his head.

"Honestly, I don't know what I feel about her. I mean, I don't have the same feelings for her as the other girls I date but when I see her close around guys, I don't feel comfortable. There's this prudent dislike if I see her getting close around guys. Other than that, I honestly don't know why and how I still feel about her," Syaoran frowned at the thought of this complicated explanation. However, behind all of these unknown tortuous emotions, he felt relieved to finally let things out. Maybe it was true that letting things out would be better for someone's health.

Exchanging secret glances, Takumi, Ryu and Eriol didn't know what to say about Syaoran's confession which he had never done before in front of them. Obviously they knew a long time ago that there were hints of maintained feelings left from Syaoran and Sakura's relationship, but never had they thought he would confess.

"YOU, Syaoran Li," Eriol emphasized, "in the most obvious way still do have feelings for Sakura. It is, however, confusing you with the guilt you feel when you betrayed her last year. It's cool that you don't feel the same way about her as the other girls. That's because this is real love you're talking about, not just some foolish games of lust that you share with the other girls. As to why you are uncomfortable when you see her around guys, that's jealousy, buddy." Eriol hit Syaoran's shoulder lightly. "You're in love, my friend!"

"No, I'm not," Syaoran protested. "I am a playboy, afterall, who knows what women think. I can 'relate' to them for I've dated way too many girls. I know I don't 'love' Sakura. I mean there is guilt within me for betraying her but definitely, it's not love. I know when it's love or not." Syaoran said proudly, proud of how he could "read" women.

His friends looked at him in disgust.

"Sure you can," teased Takumi who received a death glare from Syaoran.

"Yeah, I know you can read women but because you are a dating expertiee, you don't have the instincs like normal people to understand what realy love is like."

"W--"

"They say, love is blind. Know what that means?" Takumi. "When love is here, people tend to not realize this occurring. It makes people think twice about things which will end up causing them to make the wrong decision. There is more than one definition for this phrase, but for you, this is enough. This is what you need to consider."

"No--"

"If you want to prove we're wrong, then here's my dare." Takumi stared into Syaoran's amber eyes solemnly. "Next week is our school's award ceremony. I heard that there will be a ball in honour of Seyur Kose, the school founder. I dare you to ask Sakura to be your dance partner, but you know what, not to discourage you buddy, you will get rejected. I know that for sure. Be warned." Takumi gave a devilish grin.

Expression shifting from solemn to pride, Syaoran said, "Thanks for yor warning, but it's not needed. There's no way a girl will reject my offer." With that, he walked off into the bathroom.

"Sakura's different!" Takumi called out after Syaoran. He, Eriol, and Ryu each let out a frustrated sigh of defeat.

* * *

**Valkyrie85: My gosh! This is the longest chapter I've ever written! 3 thousand something words. That's a lot, right? Anyways, I've already planned out another story to be written in a few months, hopefully before this story ends. So, stay tuned to the new story and the new chapter updates for this story! Thank you so much for supporting the story**!

**Oh yeah, please review! Thanks**!


	12. Chapter 12

**Valkyire:** WOW! Finally the 12th chapter! It is still incredible to be able to get this far. My perseverance was never this strong before...This is all because of you supportive readers who keep me motivated!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own CCS. Only the new plot and the new characters did I create.

**Complications-Chapter 12**

* * *

On the very top floor of the Li Empire building was where the chief executives, including CEO Taka Kissu, worked. Only those with high authority were allowed to enter whenever and however they wanted, without having to report to the secretaries before entering.

As the sixth heiress in line to claim the company, being the only child in her family--her father, the younger brother of Syaoran's father--she was counted as one of the top executives, as well.

Sitting behind the current temporary CEO's massive, brown, wooden desk, Mei Ling concentrated on the large computer flat-screen in front of her. With all of the blinds from the windows behind her, closed, she was able to focus more clearly on whatever she was looking at.

The atmosphere was very secluded.

"...I understand," said a stern female voice coming from the computer. "If his problem could be fixed so quickly, I shouldn't have to ask you to do this favour for me, but do hurry because you've only got until the end of grade 12 to accomplish this, Mei Ling." Even the calm voice comprised with elegance had to let out the least bit of frustration.

"Yes, aunty. I will try my best, however, this is more complicated than I originally had thought it would be. I have confidence in myself, but at the same time, I can only tell you this must not be hurried and it's only a matter of time until we achieve that goal," Mei Ling assured.

"Thank you, Mei Ling. I can't thank you enough. Let's just hope Syaoran will turn out to be the capable man who will gain their trust and confidence," thanked the woman, the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

Her eyes looked ancient, like she hadn't slept for many days, but Mei Ling knew it was not the case. There was nothing but her son's future, her close cousin's future, that could dominate so much power to destroy this perfect woman's unyielding self-esteem.

With a final wave at the computer, Mei Ling pressed esc on the keyboard, and pushed her wheel chair away from the desk.

"The blinds are still closed," Mei Ling told the receptionist, working behind the desk typing furiously away, as she opened Taka's office door. She smiled before going to the elevator.

"Please thank Taka for me, Miss Tate."

On the ride home, in a limo escorted by Taka, Mei Ling recalled her long conversation with Aunty Yelan. There were all types of emotional moments, from frustration to happiness to anger...Truly was the powerful Li Corporation President defeated by her precious son. Not even when her loving husband fell ill was she this emotion-strucked.

Staring out at the the dark starry night--where only rare stars could be seen-- Mei Ling prayed silently for her aunt's health. Was it a right decision, telling her that everything was more complicated than she thought it would be, or should she have told her everything was going smoothly?

But then again, failing her dear aunt's excitement was out of the question, so maybe telling her the truth at this time should be the safest response. She needed lots more time to do the research before making another move...

**Flashback-Unwritten scene from Chapter 9**

_Syaoran set his eyes upon Takumi's like a hawk scrutinuzing after its pray. The threat in those fiery amber eyes were deadly cold that sent chills down Takumi's spine. Wasn't he paying no attention to their conversation? Seemingly so..._

_"E-Ecuse me for a moment. I need to use the restroom." Takumi hurried off in limps towards the washroom._

_"What's with him?" Syaoran asked innocently. Ryu shrugged, having no idea what had just happened while Mei Ling's eyes narrowed. There was something going on around here that she had no knowledge of and she knew it was something important, and the Sakura Kinomoto..._

_"Excuse me for a moment as well. I need to use the washroom." Mei Ling walked slowly towards the restroom area._

_When there, she turned back to make sure that the table she and the others sat at was not anywhere near the area. Obviously at a fancy restaurant, a revolting washroom was separated from the dinning area; that was the common courtesy._

_She followed the washroom sign until she reached a circular area where a beautiful statue was positioned in the centre, stretching out each hand with a washroom sign. Supported by the left foot of the statue, Takumi was down low, rubbing his foot._

_"Oww..." he moaned, massaging his foot. Mei Ling got up to him and tapped lightly on his shoulder._

_"Are you alright, Takumi?" Mei Ling asked gently, a little bit too gently that made Takumi jump up in surprise._

_"Oh, Mei Ling!" he cried, taking a deep breath of relieve. "I thought it was Syaoran coming to send me to hell!" He covered his mouth abruptly after the words came out of his mouth._

_Mei Ling's eyebrow raised._

_"Why would Syaoran beat you up?" she asked suspiciously._

_"N-Nothing. I was just joking!" Takumi hastily explained. He shook his hands in disagreement which made Mei Ling even more suspicious._

_Her thoughts became speculating._

_"Takumi," Mei Ling grinned evily, taking a step closer to him. "Too bad I'm not Syaoran, eh? Why not I do his job and beat you up, instead." She wrapped her arm tightly, and chockingly, around Takumi's neck._

_"If that's what you really want," she added._

_"A-A-ah. Stop, I c-can't b-breath, Mei Ling!" Takumi said as he tried to unwrap her arm._

_Mei Ling smirked and released his neck._

_"Now, will you tell me who is this Sakura Kinomoto you were about to say and why Syaoran kicked you under the table?"_

_Takumi's face covered in shock again. Who knew somebody, other than him and Syaoran, noticed what had caused Takumi to scream in the restaurant?_

_"Sakura's one of Syaoran's ex-girlfriend. She was the longest girlfriend he had ever had. They broke up shortly after Syaoran got tired of her. She's also the only girlfriend who rejected Syaoran's cheque as well as the only girl who we think Syaoran's had true feelings for," Takumi murmured lowly, barely loud enough for Mei Ling's ears._

_"What about my other question? Why was Syaoran so careful about it that he had to kick you to shut you up?" Mei Ling inquired skeptically._

_Takumi rolled his eyes. "Madame, I was about to get to that before you so rudely interrupted. Because Syaoran is afraid to admit his feelings, or maybe doesn't realize it. He is so unsure of his feelings for Sakura that he's trying to avoid it in every possible way."_

_Mei Ling stayed quiet for a few minutes before fixing with a simple nod._

_"Are you surprised to be hearing this?"_

_Mei Ling stared at Takumi before nodding again._

_"Sakura is different. The aura around her is simply incomprehensible. Even Eriol, who's dating her best friend, Tomoyo, thinks so. Me and Takumi are not too close with her but we know she is different-- one of a kind. Have you met any of the other girlfriends he'd dated? They're all..."_

_"Sluts?" Mei Ling suggested._

_"Yeah, you can say that. Though don't mention it in front of Syaoran, okay?"_

_Hearing no reply fom her, he sighed and continued._

_"They're all sluts, but only Sakura was an exception. She had the ability to change Syaoran, even in the shortest time," Takumi mused._

_Mei Ling still couldn't believe her ears that this Sakura Kinomoto could make her cousin's heart move, could make his friends say so much about her--that was a first._

_Suddenly, Takumi's expression dropped. "Ouch. I really do need to use the washroom before my bladder explodes. Will you be so kindly and go back to the table to make things less suspicious? Thanks!"_

_With that, Takumi rushed into the washroom. Mei Ling stood there silently, just absorbing everything she had heard. Finally coming to the conclusion, she decided that she needed to learn more about this Sakura Kinomoto._

**End of Flashback**

* * *

There was no reason, in any means, to feel as sweaty as what Syaoran was feeling at the moment. It wasn't like the air conditioner wasn't turned on to accomodate the students to the unseasonably warm weather. Today was especially hot, hotter than any other day that could remember.

Was it really that hot--making his feet sweat inside the newly polished black shoes, and teardrop shapes of sweat dripping down his neck, back and forehead-- or was it really because the girl he will be asking to be his dance partner tonight at the ball was currently performing a beautiful piece of piano music right in front of his eyes?

Or, was it hot because he was practically rejected by Sakura?

Her eyes first scanned through the audience the minute she got up to the stage. This was the common courtesy to make eye contact with the audience before performing. Just before he made proper eye contact with Sakura when her eyes landed on him, her warm orbs turned cold and quickly moved on.

See, Syaoran was that good with reading women. Why in the world would she make eye contact with possibly every single one of the students in the auditorium, except for him? He was, in a way, closer to her than half of the people in the audience, right? Because he was his ex, they were once really close, right?

There was a rush of anger through him after that happened because he was physically humiliated by her lack of compassion towards him. But deep down, he felt a kind of twingy feeling of sadness.

Why would he feel sad, though?

Most of the audience stood to the ground before Sakura hit her final note on the piano. Her performance was flawless, as usual, that made her audience go wild.

Why hadn't she auditioned to be the second Lang Lang?

Syaoran remained sitting on the chair, still as stone. If Sakura didn't consider him a close person, then why should he? The audience standing are probably most of her friends, anyways, Syaoran thought.

He had no reason to cheer for her because they weren't close. He considered this as a counter-humiliation.

Geez, he didn't even bother to clap! Yes! That's what she deserved.

* * *

As promised, Syaoran was going to do his dare in front of his friends, tonight. He finally arrived at the banquet hall in his porsche all by himslef, without a partner. His three other friends each had a partner of their own so didn't accompany him like the other times.

As he walked to the entrance-- two girls dressed in ball gowns-- who he recognized from his school greeted him in shy voices, and one of them handed him a red rose wrapped in plastic wrapper.

"Hi, Syaoran!" said one of the girls. "You are to give this flower to the girl who will be your dance partner, tonight."

She looked on both sides of Syaoran. "I see you don't have one yet, but don't worry, there are lots of girls here tonight who came without a partner, so you're not the only one." The girl winked while the other one blushed furiously.

Syaoran showed his significant killer smile before entering. "Thank you."

"_Syaoran's here!!!!"_

_"OH MY GOD! I THINK I'M GOING TO FAINT! DO YOU SEE HOW HOT HE IS?"_

"_That rose is mine_," many cried out mischiveously. Syaoran just smiled his way through the gathering crowd as he witnessed some male partners being left alone while their dance partners rushed towards him. Some even threw the roses they received from their partners on the way, in hoping of receiving Syaoran's.

Syaoran professionally pushed his way through the crowd, using his skilled techniques to calm their excitement.

"You look beautiful tonight!"

"You got a haircut?"

"That makeup looks just right on you. You're beautiful."

With his sweet talks, he was able to get away from them, one by one.

For now.

He approached his three friends, all standing side by side in the far corner. Each in their hands, no roses.

"Hey."

"Syaoran, it's time. You are to do your dare in front of our eyes," Takumi said excitedly.

Syaoran looked around the room in search of Sakura. "She's over there," Ryu said pointedly.

Syaoran turned around to find Sakura and an unknown man dancing to the waltz being played at the moment, on the other side of the room. The rose in that man's chest pocket was vividly visible.

Syaoran smiled to himself, smugly.

"He offerd the rose, but Sakura rejected it, saying that she already has a partner," Eriol explained, reading Syaoran's expression.

"Obviously, it's a lie because she came in alone, well in Tomoyo's car, actually."

The extra information made Syaoran smile even wider. "Looks like our friend's in a good mood, today," Takumi teased, nudging Syaoran. As if on cue, he stopped his smiling and returned to the old, pretentious poker face.

"Do you guys know where Mei Ling is? She told me she got a partner." Syaoran inquired.

"Oh yes. I forgot to tell you, man. I asked her to be my partner," Ryu said apologetically as he scratched the back of his head. Syaoran's face lightened up in surprise.

"Wow! Are you serious? Mei Ling?" he asked humorously.

Ryu shot him a dirty look.

Syaoran sauntered towards where Sakura and the unknown person danced, while glimpsing over at the food table where Mei Ling and Tomoyo conversed happily.

Reaching closer to Sakura, he stopped to take in Sakura's appearance. There was no word to describe her--too beautiful beyond human's imagination. The smallest bit in him hoped that the person she reserved her partnership to tonight was secretly him, none other than him.

But of course, that was out of the question. There was no way Sakura will do that.

The strapless, floor-length pink dress hugged tightly around her upper body, showing the beautiful shoulders and her lovable curves possessed by a model. It was the ideal kind of body that many girls would die for, not too fat or too skinny. Near the end of the upper part and the begginning of the lower body, her dress starts to gradually thicken up with multiple folds to accentuate her long legs.

Her always soft-looking auburn hair was tied up into a fancy bun on the side, with a final touch of a small tiara fixed in the centre oh the hair masterpiece.

Tonight, Sakura was truly a princess. The smile on her face was beautiful, breath-taking.

Syaoran was grateful that her look was not the sexy type tonight, showing too much cleavage, but the cute-looking princess look that matched her out-going personality.

He took a mental note to thank Tomoyo for her prodigious creation.

Once the dance was over, Sakura thanked her partner and left for the chairs on the side. What a coincidence! Just as she took her break, other people started filing in, grabbed their dance partners, and danced to the next piece of music. The area where the chairs were was almost empty.

He stepped away from the wall he was leaning against and strolled towards Sakura. He felt anxious eyes upon his back.

Syaoran smiled smugly to himself as he approached her.

"You look beautiful, tonight, Sakura," he complimented, breathing in her sweet perfume.

Sakura looked up as her face faltered to nothing but coldness. "Thank you."

She showed him her polite smile that didn't reach her eyes for they remained cold, and returned her gaze to the dancing crowd.

"I see you don't have a partner, yet. Where's Mike?" Syaoran tried to start another coversation.

"He's with somebody else, tonight," answered Sakura coldly, not meeting his eyes; second chance a failure.

"Oh, I see. I don't have a partner either. It would be an honour to have you as my partner," Syaoran said sincerely, however, Sakura knew better not to trust his exaggerated polite manners because that was how she got tricked into dating him.

"My apologies," Sakura said, finally meeting his liquidy amber eyes with her cold ones. "I don't want to be your partner."

With that, she got up and left for the exit of the banquet hall. Syaoran remained standing dumbly on the floor, frozen like a statue-- a heart-broken statue.

He couldn't even break down the words--simply too stunned to do anything. Suddenly, he felt two firm hands on his shoulders. Eriol, Takumi and Ryu had rushed to his side the minute they noticed something went wrong.

He was Syaoran Li. He never got rejected like this ever, before. Nobody dared to reject his offer. They simply die for them.

Then, the words from Takumi quickly flowed into his head..."Sakura's different!"

Sakura Kinomoto was different. She rejected him not only once, with the money, not twice, with the eye contact in the auditorium, but three times, rejecting his offer to be her dance partner. This was nothing but humiliation.

How dare she ruin his reputation like that!

He felt a rush of anger go through him but didn't quite understand the reason. Was it because he got humiliated so many times by her or because she just simply rejected him. Did he feel regret or was it really ANGER?

Damn it! Why was life so comlicated?

Finally, he regained his composure, shrugged his friends' hands off roughly and hurried out the door where Sakura had left minutes ago.

* * *

After the emotionless encounter with Syaoran in the banquet hall, Sakura hastily paced to the women's washroom located on the far end of the corridor.

When there, she splashed cold water over her heating face. The water-proof makeup that Tomoyo had put on for her was another marvelous idea.

As much as she hated to admit this, she had struggled hard to compose herself back in the hall. She felt Syaoran's hawk-like eyes scruntinizing her every move, even when she danced with Hikaru.

It was hard to be cold to Syaoran, she honestly believed, but his usual pretentious personality had won her the correct attitude he deserved. After that, as soon as she rejected his offer, she couldn't help but run for rescue.

Wiping her face with a piece of paper towel and then fixed her hair in front of the mirror, she left the washroom.

"How are you, Syaoran?" she heard a girl ask seductively.

"You still have that rose? Is it for me?" another girl questioned, hopefully.

"You look hot, tonight, as always," complimented the first.

When Syaoran took sight of Sakura coming out of the washroom, he quickly whispered something into the girls' ears and they left willingly back into the dancing hall, shooting Sakura a dirty look on the way in.

They shut to corridor doors, leaving the two of them alone in dead silence.

"Sakura," Syaoran said plainly.

Sakura ignored him and started walking towards the double doors.

"Sakura!" She felt one of his hands on her shoulder. She shook it off dangerously, turned around and glared at him with disgust.

"Don't touch me!" she warned coldly as she quickened her pace to the doors, which seemed longer than it should have been. She heard Syaoran's footsteps echo hers, at a quicker speed trying to catch up to her.

"Why don't you want to be my partner?" Syaoran asked, finally stopping his progression.

"I just don't want to be your partner. Simple." Sakura stopped too.

"Three times, Sakura Kinomoto," he laughed without any trace of humour. "You have rejected me THREE damn times!"

Sakura's eyes shot at him. "My apologies. What if I did? Who was even there to witness this embarassment? Nobody really cares, Syaoran."

Syaoran struggled to get the words out. If he told her he got dared to do that, would she get mad? "E-Everybody."

"You're one big fat liar. Everything to you is a shame. So Mr. Perfect, please get out of my way before I embarrass you again."

As she took one more step forward, the lights suddenly went off.

She froze.

"Oh my God!" she whispered lowly, shutting her eyes tightly.

She was afraid of darkness.

Sakura became dead silent. She wasn't moving, or breathing. If that was possible.

Syaoran closed the gap between them as he whispered.

"It's okay, Sakura. I'm here with you. There's no GHOST or anything," Syaoran comforted her, while humorously emphasized the word "ghost."

Syaoran instantly became regretful for joking about the thing she was scared of the most in the world when Sakura started sobbing.

He took off his jacket, put it over her shoulders and grasped her hand in his, guiding her to where Sakura thought was the double doors she had tried so hard to reach.

"Where are we going? The doors are THAT way," Sakura pointed at the other direction, still too scared to open her eyes.

"Sakura, the doors are this way," he replied velvetly, leading her to the opposite direction of the doors.

"Here, go in." He opened the door for a clueless Sakura who thought that it was really the banquet hall they were entering.

* * *

**Valkyrie85: WO HO! Finally done this chapter! Again, this is a really long one. Lots of secret being exposed in this one, eh? Well, I'm hoping to read a lot of surprised reviews! I realized that a lot of you thought Mei Ling learned Sakura's past through her first-hand story, but really, that's not the case! GOT YOU THERE, DIDN'T I? Also...what is Mei Ling's true purpose moving in with Syaoran?!?! DUN DUN DUN DUN!**

**Until next time, folks! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Valkyrie85:** I have a confession to make, everyone. I am currently having a very horrible writer's block. That's why after I came back from my trip, I didn't upload. Hopefully, this chapter lives up to your expectations! By the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I have many stories currently being planned for a later release. :D

**Complications-Chapter 13**

* * *

"Go in."

As Syaoran held the door open for Sakura, Sakura took a step forward, without realizing that it was a large step down. She lost her balance and was about to fall, before she felt two strong arms wrapped around her slim waist from the front.

How Syaoran had got to her so fast, it was still unknown. Perhaps not everyone in the darkness was as slow as Sakura. But, she really couldn't be blamed because she had inheirted her mother's disease, night blindedness.

"Are you okay?" asked Syaoran, still not letting go of his arms.

Seeing how close they were, Sakura tried her best to stay away from him as much as possible. "Yeah, thanks. The step there was unexpected." Syaoran shook his head.

"Are you not a bit too into this ghost stuff, Sakura? You would rather close your eyes than to watch where you're going. Isn't this silly to do?" There was unmistakable wary in his voice that took Sakura by surprise, but she didn't let it get to her.

"I don't think you're any better by dragging me into this room when we're supposed to be in the banquet hall with the rest of the students. I don't even think we're allowed to be in here. Now, if you are not going to tell me the reason why you brought me here, then I will start making my way back. That's if you can let go of me first." She put each of her hand on his arms and pulled them free from her waist.

If only things were that easy. Due to Syaoran's much stronger strength, his arms could not be removed. Instead, he tightened his arms and pulled her forcefully to his chest.

"W-What are you doing!" Sakura whispered frightenly, as if afraid to break the chilly silence. She struggled to pull free but with no success.

As she continued to struggle, Syaoran said, almost begged, hopefully, "Sakura. Can we please start over?"

Just as if somebody had taped her mouth shut, Sakura suddenly stopped all of her movement in that second. Her body tensed. A bunch of images and emotions ran into her mind like a whirlwind.

Then, she said jokingly, "Are you having a fever, Syaoran? I guess the heat must have killed your brain cells quite badly, huh, seeing how it has made you ask such a retarded question." She mockingly placed her hand over his forehead to check his temperature. "Hm...Doesn't seem like you're sick-"

His firm hand quickly flew up and was placed on top of hers. "I'm not sick, nor am I crazy. I'm being serious here." His tone expressed full sincerity and honesty. He pulled her hand off his forehead and held it tightly beside their body.

"Neither am I, Syaoran," Sakura said seriously, her previous mocking tone no where in sight. "Let's not let history repeat itself. Sometimes it's just better to leave things the way we left them and move on." Sakura's lips ended up in a grim line.

She didn't even know what she'd just said was deeply what she'd felt. Perhaps, this was always kept within her, but she just didn't realize it. Now that it had finally been let out, she felt a kind of gladness which she had never experienced before.

"I can't, Sakura. I still love you!" Syaoran argued, exasperated. He pulled Sakura into a tight embrace, his voice muffled by her soft hair.

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek, fighting her way to form a small smile on her face. She gently pulled herself away from him and placed her warm hand on his cheek.

"Syaoran." Their eyes met in the darkness. Even though Sakura couldn't see, she could feel a strong surge of emotions shooting back at her. "It's about time you need to slow down your pace and find yourself a girl who you will love as much as she loves you--"

"It's you Sakura!" Syaoran interrupted.

"I am most definitely not the girl. You need to truly and willingly allow yourself to look for that right girl but not through your friends' simple dare--"

"...What dare?"

"Now, you are going to play dumb? The only reason you are here is because you want to prove to your friends that I will fall for you again, despite the fact that I rejected you when you asked me to dance with you," Sakura replied. She glued her teeth together before any extra comment slipped away.

"I--" He became speechless. Guilt was all over him. Sakura put her hand that was on his cheek to his mouth.

"My point is, I hope you will find yourself a decent girl and never treat love like it's just a game that lets you go around and break girls' heart," she emphasized the last two words and retreated her hand from his mouth. This time, Syaoran's tight grasp loosened. Sakura pulled away the instant, before it's too late. She quickly turned around to hide her face from him, as she felt him froze to the ground.

She allowed only a few small droplets of tears to roll down her beautiful face. She bit her bottom lip hard to restrain herself from letting out any sounds that might have given her away.

After a moment "Sakura..." Sakura felt his hand on her shoulder as she quickly wiped away the tears with the back of her hand.

"Yeah?"

"Can we still be friends?" asked Syaoran, with hope in his voice.

She considered the request quietly. Then she turned to face him eye to eye.

"No," she replied, with determination.

Syaoran continued to lock gazes with her. He studied her face expectantly, hoping to find any regret in her eyes. Unsurprisingly, he didn't. But one thing was clear. He finally learned, somehow, from their conversation how much he had really hurt her a year ago and realized how much she meant to him.

Syaoran realized that nothing mattered anymore because, like she said, history shouldn't be repeated, especially not when it had hurt her so much.

Life, in that instant, became duller and darker than the darkness that surrounded them.

* * *

**Valkyrie85: That's the end of this crappy chapter, everyone. I'm sorry that it's so short.**


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